Fallen
by Aaron Nowack
Summary: It has been six years since Third Impact. Six years since the end of the world. For six years, the few survivors have been rebuilding their world. That is all about to come to an end.
1. Prelude: Together Alone

Fallen   
A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic   
By: Aaron Nowack  
  
Prelude: Together Alone  
  
***********************************************************************  
Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is not mine, but instead belongs to  
Gainax and Hideako Anno. The text of this fanfic is mine, however, and  
may not be used without permission. Have you pet a spork today?  
***********************************************************************  
  
The sun was rising.  
  
A new start for a new day. Another day that would be just like  
the previous, here after the end of the world. Another day of silence,  
of being alone. Many times in his life Shinji had wished for just such  
an endless stretch of solitude, yet now that it had come he found its  
benifits far smaller than he had imagined.  
  
Shinji recalled something one of his teachers had told him once,  
that the weeks after Second Impact were sometimes called 'The Long  
Night'. Clouds had blotted out the sky, obscuring the heavens. The sun  
neither set nor fell, and the entire world was cast into a seemingly  
eternal, chill twilight. His teacher had said that the first sunrise,  
almost a month later, was the first time he had felt any hope for  
mankind since the Impact.  
  
Fortunately, Third Impact, if that was the proper name for what  
had occured, had not had such an effect. What it had done was left a  
landscape forever changed, wiped clean of mankind. Shinji could see the  
ruins of what had been Tokyo-3 rising impressively to the north, dark  
and silent. At some point he would have to go there, but for now he was  
content to remain here.  
  
He slowly rose from the small hollow his body had made in the  
sand. The sun was already almost over the petrified forms that had once  
been the Mass Production Series. He was not sure how they could have  
arrived where they were, in the center of the bay of LCL, but his  
memories of everything after the attack on NERV had started were so  
fragmentary as to be non-existent. In a way, he was glad for that. The  
little he remembered was horrifying enough.  
  
Shinji made his way along the shore, heading for the small  
stream of fresh water he had discovered shortly after his awakening.  
That, and the food he could scrounge from the mostly intact remains of a  
nearby convenience store, provided his physical sustanence. It was a  
simple life, and not a particularly difficult one, but for some reason  
he was becoming discontented.  
  
When he arrived at the stream Shinji quickly relieved himself,  
then moved slightly upstream and knelt by the riverbed. He cupped the  
clear water in his hands and brought it up to his lips, drinking as much  
as he could before the water spilled out. A tiny voice nagged at him  
from the back of his mind that he really should salvage some styrophome  
cups or something like that, but he really didn't feel any need. He  
repeated the process three times before his thirst was quenched, then he  
lay down, staring blankly at the cloudless sky.  
  
He could not say how long he did this, but eventually he heard  
footsteps approaching, and he rose. He did not need to ask who was  
coming, for there was only one other person it could be. The only other  
person in this world, yet she might as well not exist. The two of them  
did not live together, but merely existed alongside each other. He  
could not remember the last time they had exchanged any words, but none  
seemed necessary. There was nothing to say, for they had already said  
what could be said, and all that was left was this endless unchanging  
routine.  
  
Before she arrived, Shinji had left the riverside, headed for  
the one thing that did change. It took him only a few minutes to reach  
this place, a large stone that rose from the sand like a mountain out of  
the plains. He picked up a small, sharp rock from where he had left it  
the previous day, and made a single mark on the stone, a diagonal slash  
across four straight marks. This made the third such grouping, meaning  
that fifteen days had passed since he had first awakened. Fifteen days  
since the world had ended.  
  
This complete, he carefully laid the sharp stone back in its  
position, then set off on a longer hike. He first headed for the  
cracked asphalt highway that ran parallel to the shore, then headed  
along the road in the direction of Tokyo-3. It was a depressing trip,  
the silent road littered with overturned, empty cars, tossed about by  
the catacylsm that had wrecked the city. The first few days, some of  
the cars had still had their engines running, but by now they were all  
long silent.  
  
After perhaps half an hour of hiking down the desolate road, he  
reached his destination: a small crossroads that featured the first  
intact building that could be found along this route. Fortunately, it  
was a small gas station, and it was from here that Shinji procured his  
meals. He slipped through the doors and took a quick look around the  
store, though he knew nothing would have changed.  
  
He passed by the aisle of canned food, knowing that that would  
last the longest, and he instead took a loaf of bread and a few apples  
that still looked somewhat fresh. He gathered up a few more perishable  
goods, then prepared to leaved. He gave the freezer of milk a longing  
glance, but he knew the milk was long since spoiled. After a moment's  
thought, though, he did grab a soda. He didn't think that those went  
bad. After taking a quick sip and confirming that, though warm, it  
didn't taste any different than it should, he grabbed a plastic bag from  
the counter and prepared to make his way back to the shore.  
  
He still felt slightly guilty every time he left the store, as  
though someone was going to pop out from behind the counter and accuse  
him of shoplifting. Hefting the bag over his shoulder, Shinji started  
on the trip back. He supposed that he could get more food and thus  
avoid making the trip so often, but it didn't seem worth the effort.  
The food wasn't going anywhere, and these journeys were for the most  
part his sole occupation.  
  
The return trip, as always, seemed slower than the trip up to  
the store, in part because he had just recently seen the unchanging  
scenery, and in part due to the burden he carried. At around the  
halfway point he took another drink from the soda and ate a slice of  
bread, but he didn't slow his steady pace. There was no reason to  
linger, though there was no reason to rush his return either. It was  
not as though anything awaited him.  
  
When he arrived he found Asuka sitting in her usual position on  
the very shore, staring out over the yellow sea at the grotesque  
statues. For a moment he considered joining her, but he eventually  
shook his head. All that would result would be another session of the  
two of them sitting side by side, not acknowledging the other's  
presence. Instead, he headed back to the river.  
  
He let his bag fall to the ground and soon he followed as well.  
It was almost noon, and his day was already complete. In an hour or so  
he would eat, and he would eat again when the sun set. Other than that,  
he had nothing more to do than wait for nightfall and sleep. And when  
he awoke, the cycle would begin anew.  
  
Time passed, as it always did. When noon came, Shinji ate his  
lunch and drank deeply from the river. He knew that less than five  
minutes walk away, Asuka was doing much the same. For the first week or  
so they had eaten together, but for some reason they had stopped.  
Shinji found himself, much to his surprise, missing those days, as  
painful as they often were. Eternal quiet and solitude was not turning  
out to be the paradise he had imagined.  
  
He briefly wondered whether Asuka felt the same way, but he was  
sure she did not. She was... very loud when her desires were not met,  
and if she saw any deficiency in the current state of affairs Shinji was  
quite certain he would have swiftly heard about it. He sighed. Asuka  
might not need anyone, but he was starting to believe that he did.  
  
"Why us?" he asked himself, not for the first time. Why were  
the two of them, out of everyone, were alive, while eveyone else was...  
dead? Shinji did not think that, for some reason. He did not feel as  
though they were dead, but instead were merely gone. Why, he could not  
say, but he was sure the answer lay in the memories he had lost, the  
memories of what he was calling Third Impact.  
  
Was that really what it was? He had heard so many contradictory  
explanations for what Third Impact was, and what could cause it. Yet he  
was sure none of them described anything like this. From all he had  
heard, Third Impact was... final. Whatever had happened was not, not  
really. It had left the two of them washed up on this lonely beach,  
facing an eternity of dreary days.  
  
Time continued to pass, the sun slowly inching its way through  
the sky. Shinji continued to lay by the shallow river, sometimes on his  
back and sometimes on his stomach. He was lost in his own thoughts, a  
situation he spent most of his time in. There was little else to do but  
think.  
  
Something suddenly intruded on his thoughts, startling him and  
causing him to sit upright. From the direction of the beach he could  
hear the all too familiar sound of rather colorful German, though for  
once it did not seem to be uttered in anger, but rather in shock.  
Shinji nearly tripped on a rock as he raced down to the beach, his mind  
pointing out all the worst possibilities for the outburst's cause.  
  
As he reached the shore, it took him a painful moment to locate  
Asuka, standing waist-deep in the LCL, and obviously struggling with  
something. An instant after he saw her, she noticed him as well, and  
shouted, "Don't just stand there, you idiot! Get in here and help me!"  
  
Shinji wordlessly complied, and he nearly cursed in surprise  
himself when he saw what Asuka's burden was. It was a man, perhaps  
twenty years old, though he almost looked closer to the two children's  
age than to that. He was wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt,  
though both were soaked through with LCL. Most importantly, he was  
obviously alive, though unconscious. The two of them working together  
managed to get the man on shore, and then managed to force the LCL out  
of his lungs. The man took a gasping breath.  
  
"Hurry up and get some water," Asuka commanded. "He'll want  
some when he wakes up."  
  
"H-how?" Shinji stuttered.  
  
"Use a cup, you idiot!" Asuka snorted in derision, "Can't you  
even do a simple task like that by yourself?"  
  
Shinji was about to protest that he didn't have a cup when he  
rememberd the empty soda bottle he had left by the river bank. A short  
time later, he had returned with the bottle filled near the brim, and  
shortly after that the man began to stir.  
  
Asuka grabbed the bottle of water and presented it to the man,  
who greedily drained it in a matter of seconds. "Nasty taste in my  
mouth," he muttered when he was done, letting the bottle fall by his  
side as he took in deep breaths of air.  
  
"It's the LCL," Shinji stated as he picked up the bottle.  
  
"The LC-what?" the man asked, sitting up. "Who are you people?  
Where am I?"  
  
Shinji and Asuka looked at each other helplessly, trying to  
figure out how to explain the nearly unexplainable. Before they could,  
the man had noticed the apocalyptic landscape that surrounded them.  
"What the hell happened?" he asked, horror in his voice as he took in  
the LCL sea and the ruins of Tokyo-3.  
  
After a long moment, Shinji spoke. "Third Impact, I think."  
  
The man turned to look at him. "You... you're Commander Ikari's  
son," he said. Shinji nodded, realizing the man must have been a NERV  
employee, though certainly not one he had met before. "And that would  
make you the Second Child, right?" he asked Asuka, who responeded  
affirmatively.  
  
After a moment of silence, Shinji asked the man for his own  
name. "Hiruma Kuro. I am... was, I guess, a guard at NERV." He paused  
a moment. "So, if Third Impact has happened... why am I still here?"  
  
Asuka shrugged. "You're the first other person we've seen. I  
thought we survived because we were in the Evas, but..."  
  
Kuro rubbed his eyes. "I have the world's worst headache," he  
commented. "The last thing I remember was hearing the SSDF was going to  
drop an N2 bomb on us."  
  
The discussion continued until nightfall, at which point the  
three broke for dinner. By pooling Shinji and Asuka's supplies enough  
food was found by all three, though it was obvious that someone would  
need to fetch more the next morning, as only a few pieces of bread was  
left by the time the three went to sleep. However, this was not  
actually acomplished until the afternoon.  
  
In the morning, two more people washed up on the beach. The  
next day, four. Then two days passed without any more arrivals, then  
seven people in one day. By the time Shinji had made twenty more marks  
on his stone, which was now called the Calender Stone, almost eighty  
people had arrived, and there was some talk about finding a more  
permanent shelter.  
  
A nasty rainstorm, the first since Shinji had awakened,  
convinced everyone that this should be done sooner rather than later,  
and Asuka led the group to a mostly intact building that would serve  
until they could build a more stable structure. Weeks and months  
passed, and the small settlement's population slowly grew. Small  
shelters built from the rubble began to replace the improvised communal  
hall, which became a place for public assemblies. Foraging parties  
roamed ever longer distances to provide ever larger amounts of food for  
the survivors.  
  
To their own surprise, Shinji and Asuka found themselves  
becoming to some extent the leaders of the settlement, now mockingly  
called 'Tokyo-4' by its inhabitants. By the time a full year had been  
marked off on a new Calender Stone closer to the settlement, a task  
Shinji by now delegated to a young boy, neither they nor anyone else  
questioned their leadership. These same days found the two growing ever  
closer, their own shared experiences making them each the only one in  
the group who could even begin to understand the other, however far from  
true understanding they might have been. It only seemed natural that  
they shared a shelter, and later a bed.  
  
As time passed, familiar faces began to emerge from the LCL.  
Ibuki Maya was the first, followed shortly by the rest of the bridge  
crew. A number of students from Tokyo-3 High were found washed up on a  
more distant beach a few weeks later, while Touji and Kensuke wandered  
into the settlement from the south, having somehow avoided the scouts.  
  
Yet as the list of old friends and acquaintances slowly grew,  
the absences grew even more obvious. Gendo. Fuyutsuki. Ritsuko. Rei.  
After two years had passed the pace of arrivals slowed greatly, and none  
truly hoped that the next day would bring any of those people back from  
the dead.  
  
When six years had passed, Tokyo-4 boasted over a thousand and a  
half people, in addition to perhaps a third of that number living in  
smaller settlements on its outskirts. The scouts occasionally traded  
with groups from other communities, but there was little other contact  
with them. Life began to grow into a comfortable routine, and people no  
longer worried that the next day might be their last. Tokyo-4  
celebrated its first birth, and even the sight of the yellow sea of LCL  
with its rocky gargoyles had become an accepted part of the landscape.  
  
Before the markings for seven years had been made, this peaceful  
rebuilding would come to an end.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Author's Random Ramblings  
  
1) Thanks goes to Ryan Hupp for his efforts in prereading this.  
  
2) C&C, negative or positive, is always desired and appreciated.  
  
Started: February 23, 2003   
Draft Finished: May 02, 2003   
Draft Released: May 02, 2003   
Final Completed: May 05, 2003 


	2. Chapter 1: Awakening

Fallen  
A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic   
By: Aaron Nowack  
  
Chapter 1: Awakening  
  
***********************************************************************  
Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is not mine, but instead belongs to  
Gainax and Hideako Anno. The text of this fanfic is mine, however, and  
may not be used without permission, or you might be eaten by a grue.  
***********************************************************************  
  
She awoke.  
  
An instinctive gasp for air instead brought an overwarm, foul-  
tasting liquid past her lips. She suffered a brief moment of panic  
before her scattered mind placed the oily sensation filling her mouth.  
LCL. She calmed herself, taking a few deep 'breaths' of the liquid.  
After several moments, her fast-beating heart began to slow, returning  
to a less adrenaline-fueled speed.  
  
Her eyes flickered open, and she ignored the burning sensation  
as they met the LCL. Indeed, it was a feeling she found somewhat  
comforting, reminding her of the familiar, chlorine-induced pain she  
recalled from her countless hours in various swimming pools, one of her  
few true pleasures. She set the memory aside, taking in both another  
'breath' and her immediate surroundings.  
  
She was floating slightly above a rocky bottom that stretched as  
far as she could see - not that that distance was very far in the half-  
opaque LCL. To her sides was nothing but LCL, though she felt she could  
make out some sort of a shadow in the distance. Above her lay more LCL,  
but also a light - the sun, possibly, and also the surface. It took  
less than a second for her to decide that this was likely to be the most  
profitable direction to investigate.  
  
She allowed herself to sink slightly, touching down on the  
bottom. She then kicked off, propelling herself upward. As the initial  
momentum began to die off, she added to it with powerful, practiced  
strokes of her arms and legs. What she assumed to be the surface drew  
nearer surprisingly slowly - she had been far deeper than she had  
expected.  
  
Despite this, her head broke the surface in no more than half a  
minute. She coughed out the LCL that remained in her lungs, then took  
in a breath of real air, with no small relief. Even if she was not so  
likely to voice such as opinion as others, she had no love for either  
taste or feel of LCL. That taste still filled her mouth, and her  
memories told her it would for some time yet, unless she could find  
something to wash it out with.  
  
Not that that was particularly likely, given her present  
situation. She slowly spun about, discovering that the sea of LCL was  
bounded by a somewhat distant, fog-shrouded shore on three sides. The  
fog hid whatever might or might not block off the final direction.  
Perhaps about halfway between her and the closest shore, a rocky  
outcropping thrust out from the yellow-orange sea. There was something  
disturbingly humanoid about its shape, perhaps marking it as a weathered  
statue of some sort.  
  
Without further delay, she began to swim in that direction. By  
the time she reached the small island, her limbs were already sore.  
This fact caused her some irritation, as she knew she ought to be able  
to swim much farther before she tired. A slight frown on her face, she  
forced herself up onto the outcropping to rest.  
  
The stone was warm to the touch, too warm even. She shook her  
head at the stray thought, and settled into a slightly more comfortable  
crevice in the rock. As she did so she caught a glimpse of her  
reflection in the LCL. A frown creased her face as she turned her head  
and took a closer look.  
  
Red eyes stared back at her from a pale face, framed by  
unearthly, light blue hair, which was currently wet and plastered to her  
skin. It was her reflection - the same she remembered seeing in mirrors  
every day of her life. Yet something seemed wrong... unfamiliar. She  
had seen this face countless times before, yet it was as though she was  
now observing it for the first time.  
  
Shaken by the strange feeling, she closed her eyes and settled  
back to rest. The tiredness in her limbs seemed to spread throughout  
her body, and a moment later she was asleep. She awoke, well-rested,  
when the sun was almost directly overhead. The stone beneath her was  
now quite hot, and her body was now covered in equal parts sweat and  
crusted, dried LCL.  
  
She rose, and as she did, she noticed that the sun had burned  
away the fog that shrouded the shores. A small gasp escaped her mouth  
as she saw the skyline that dominated the one farthest from her present  
position. It might have been Tokyo-3, but if so it was not the Tokyo-3  
she knew. It was the shattered shell of a city, dark and silent.  
  
She once again pushed disturbing thoughts away, choosing instead  
to focus on her present task, gracefully sliding back into the LCL and  
resuming her progress towards the closest shore. The going seemed  
easier this time, more in line with what she knew herself to be capable  
of, though still slightly beneath her standards.  
  
Before too much more time passed. she finally reached the beach.  
She rested a moment there, trying to decide what to do now that her  
first task was finished. Her half-formed plan had been to get in  
contact with Nerv, but the ruins to her north suggested that would not  
be possible, or at the least be more difficult than she had expected.  
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she did not know when she had  
last eaten.  
  
These thoughts were driven from her mind by the sound of  
approaching footsteps behind the row of dunes that followed the shore,  
created by what she guessed was at least a half-dozen people. She  
frowned, trying to decide whether or not to attempt to hide, but the  
decision was taken from her as a man appeared atop one of the dunes. He  
stopped as he noticed her, mouth gaping.  
  
She frowned at the odd reaction. She was fairly certain she did  
not know the man. She studied him for a moment. He seemed to be around  
twenty years old, with both eyes and hair brown. As she watched him, he  
suddenly blushed and averted his eyes. She blinked, then remembered  
that she was not presently wearing any clothing.  
  
"What's wrong? Why have you stopped?" The female voice came  
from the other side of the dune, reminding her that this man was not  
alone.  
  
The man stuttered a moment before saying, "Suzuhara, you need to  
see this." She frowned. She knew that name.  
  
"Aw, this better not be another wrecked tank, man. We only have  
a thousand of those." This third voice was soon matched to another face  
as its owner too appeared on top of the dune. This face too was  
somewhat familiar to her, and she guessed this might be the father of  
the Suzuhara she knew. On closer inspection, though, the second man  
seemed to be much the same age as the first - far too young for that to  
be the case. Two oddities also revealed themselves to her - a pistol  
holstered on the man's left side, and what appeared to be the hilt of a  
sword poking up from behind his back.  
  
He too stared at her in surprise a moment, then spoke again.  
"Ayanami?!" he asked.  
  
Strangely, she had to think a moment before she was able to  
answer. "Yes. I am Ayanami Rei."  
  
Less than a half-hour later, Rei frowned a moment as she stared  
around the small tent she found herself in. The man called Suzuhara,  
obviously in command, had ordered the group to set up camp for the night  
shortly after finding her, apparently to search for any more 'new  
returns', whatever that odd phrase meant. This tent had been the first  
to be set up, and he had ordered her to go inside and change into a set  
of clothes borrowed from the group's only female - Rei had gathered her  
name was Himiko.  
  
She plucked at the fabric of the dark burgundy t-shirt she now  
wore. Both it and the denim shorts that had been provided were slightly  
too large for her, but they fit well enough to suffice for the moment.  
The same regrettably could not be said for the underwear she had been  
given, which now lay crumbled in a corner of the tent, next to a  
discarded wrapper from a candy bar she had also been given. It was not  
her habit to eat such food, but she was hungry enough that it had not  
mattered much.  
  
Rei wondered what she should do next. This... patrol was  
obviously not from Nerv, or likely any formal organization. The members  
bore no uniform, and no group she was aware of equipped its agents with  
archaic weapons like swords - of which she had seen several already.  
Her goal, she decided, had to be to get in touch with Nerv or some other  
appropriate authority. The first step in that had to be to assess both  
the identity and motives of the group she found herself in. The most  
plausible hypothesis was that they were refugees from the nearby city,  
though that still left a number of things unexplained, and reminded her  
of the question of what might have destroyed the city.  
  
Rei's already pale face whitened even further as a memory came  
to her, suggesting a possible answer, if that city truly was Tokyo-3.  
Though the memory raised even more questions, not least among them how  
she had found herself in the middle of the bay of LCL. Or alive, for  
that matter. She shuddered briefly at the thought, then forcibly pushed  
the matter aside to focus on more immediately important matters.  
  
She rose, and was about to exit the tent when she heard a voice  
from outside. "Ayanami? Are ya decent?" The man called Suzuhara. How  
did he know her name?  
  
Rei answered in the affirmative, and a moment later both  
Suzuhara and the man who had first seen her entered the tent. "Sorry  
fer takin' so long," Suzuhara said as he sat on the ground. "I know ya  
must have a lot of questions."  
  
Rei frowned, seating herself as well. "Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"Don't ya recognize me?" he replied. "I'm Suzuhara. Suzuhara  
Touji."  
  
Rei crossed her arms. "Do not lie to me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Your claim is impossible. The Fourth Child is the same age as  
myself, and you are quite evidently not."  
  
The two men exchanged glances, then 'Touji' spoke. "Ayanami...  
what is the last thing you remember, before you woke up in the bay?"  
  
Rei blinked at the sudden change in subject. "That information  
is classified."  
  
'Touji' sighed, while the other man chuckled. "Just tell her  
Ikari's cleared us for it, Touji" he suggested in a jesting tone.  
  
"Commander Ikari?" Rei asked incredulously. She did not believe  
that these two could possibly be in the Commander's confidence.  
  
The second man chuckled again. "You could say that."  
  
"Aida." The other man's voice was flat. "You're here to  
observe, not to make an idiot of yourself.  
  
The object of his ire, whom apparently the two wanted her to  
believe was Aida Kensuke, shrugged. "Sorry," he said in a not-quite  
apologetic tone of voice.  
  
'Touji' turned back to her. "Ayanami... Ikari Gendo has been  
dead for over six years."  
  
"Impossible," she replied flatly. Who exactly did these two  
expect to fool? "I spoke with him less than twenty-four hours ago."  
  
'Aida' groaned. "Listen, Ayanami. You might not remember it,  
but it's been years since the Third Impact-"  
  
"Another impossibility," Rei said, irritation almost evident in  
her voice.  
  
"And what makes you say that?" 'Aida' asked, his own irritation  
plain.  
  
"Third Impact has not occurred."  
  
'Aida' threw up his hands. "Enough. I give up already." He  
rose and left the tent.  
  
'Suzuhara' silently watched Rei a moment before speaking.  
"Let's start this over. What do ya remember last? Was it the SSDF  
attack? The mass production Evas?"  
  
Rei allowed her puzzlement to show on her face. "The SSDF has  
not engaged in offensive operations since the Korean Crisis, and the  
Evangelion Mass Production Series is still under construction." How  
could this person know of them?  
  
'Suzuhara' frowned, and shook his head. "Let's see. You  
remember the Seventeenth Angel, right?"  
  
"Why do you insist on continuing this charade? The Seventeenth  
Angel has not yet arrived."  
  
The man buried his face in his hands. "Lord, nobody's ever  
forgotten that far back." He sighed and rose. "I'm sure yer hungry.  
Dinner will be in an hour." Shaking his head, he left the tent,  
muttering under his breath.  
  
Dinner, which took slightly more than an hour to be prepared,  
was an awkward experience, awkward enough that even Rei felt somewhat  
uncomfortable. Everyone ate clustered around a small fire, but there  
was a noticeable gap between her and the other people. No one seemed  
willing to talk in her presence, and Rei was not displeased with that.  
When she had cleaned her bowl of stew, save for the small number of  
chunks of some unidentifiable meat, she silently returned to the tent  
that had been given her, and began to plan.  
  
This task was not as easy as she might have hoped, given the  
paucity of information she had to work with. She was no closer to  
finding a way to contact Nerv than she had been when she first awoke,  
and she had no insight into either the identity or the motivations of  
the group she had found herself with. It would be interesting to see  
how they would react if she attempted to leave their camp, but she was  
not sure if she wanted to risk the possibility of violence.  
  
How likely was violence? These people obviously did not intend  
to kill her out of hand - they had had a number of opportunities already  
- but their armament, however archaic it might be, indicated they were  
no strangers to fighting. They seemed content to feed her false  
information, but what could possibly motivate such a course? And why  
pick such an unbelievable story?  
  
Was it possible they were telling the truth, however impossible  
that seemed? No, she decided with a shake of her head. Even if she  
somehow had suffered loss of memory, her body would still show the signs  
of six years of aging if their claim was true. It was far more likely  
that somehow the aftermath of the last battle had transported her to  
where she had awakened. She knew enough about the Evangelions to know  
that no one understood more than the smallest fraction of their  
complexity, and what she had done was unprecedented. Her mere survival  
was indication that something unexpected had happened.  
  
Rei shook her head. She was avoiding the issue at hand. Should  
she, or should she not, attempt to escape? Nerv, assuming it had  
survived the last battle in any sort of functional form, was sure to be  
searching for her, or at least for proof she was dead. If she merely  
waited long enough, assuming her - they were not quite captors, but that  
was perhaps the closest word - did not try and take her out of the  
immediate area, they would find her. There was therefore no need to  
risk a confrontation with the people who had found her at the moment,  
she decided.  
  
With her mind made up, Rei settled down to sleep. She was tired  
from the exertions of the previous day, and hardly noticed the lack of  
any sort of bedroll in the tent or the noises of the others from  
outside. She was fast asleep within minutes, and if anyone came to  
check on her, she could not say.  
  
Then she woke up. Her mind was scattered, desperately chasing  
the fragments of a dream, a vision she was somehow sure was dreadfully  
important. A terror gnawed at her gut, a shadow of a nameless horror  
that she could feel reaching toward her. A moment later the feeling  
vanished, leaving behind only an illogical fear and a churning feeling  
in her stomach.  
  
Rei slowly sat up, ignoring the protests her stomach made at the  
movement and wincing at a few slight aches left from sleeping on the  
hard ground. She discovered that someone had covered her with a blanket  
while she slept, and she pushed this covering aside before standing.  
Despite the fact that she felt only slightly more rested than she had  
when she had fallen asleep, she knew she would get no more sleep this  
night.  
  
From outside she heard the muffled sound of a quiet argument.  
Acting almost without thinking, Rei slipped out of her tent. Her night  
vision had always been good, and the full moon's light provided more  
than enough illumination for her to see by. The sounds came from the  
camp's periphery, and she headed in that direction, past the dormant  
ashes of the campfire. As she neared, the sounds resolved themselves  
into first voices, then words.  
  
The first she identified as Suzuhara - she might as well call  
him that until she discovered his true name. "Listen, Himiko, I'm sure  
not gonna get more sleep tonight, so ya might as well-"  
  
He was interrupted by an irritated grunt. "At least let me take  
your watch tomorrow night, then."  
  
Suzuhara sighed. "Alright. Now get ta sleep, and that's an  
order."  
  
Rei was now close enough to see the woman draw herself up and  
deliver a mock salute to Suzuhara. "Aye, aye, sir." She turned about  
and began to stomp into the camp, muttering unkind things under her  
breath about male chivalry. Rei froze as she passed, and this was  
evidently enough to avoid her notice.  
  
For a moment, Rei was unsure what to do. The safest course  
would be to return to her tent, yet something told her not to. She  
could feel a strange anticipation hanging over the night, as though  
something was waiting to happen. She was not usually prone to such odd  
feelings, and obeyed them even more rarely, but this one seemed somehow  
more insistent.  
  
After a moment, she took a hesitant step forward, almost against  
her will. Suzuhara looked back over his shoulder, and his eyes widened  
slightly as he saw her. "Ayanami." A slight smile appeared on his  
face. "Ya can't sleep either?"  
  
After a moment, Rei nodded. Suzuhara pat the ground beside him.  
"Come and sit with me a moment. I think we still need ta talk."  
  
Rei did not see what harm this could do, so she complied after  
only a few seconds' silent hesitation. It was after a much longer  
silence that she spoke. "You said you wished to talk."  
  
"I suppose I did." Despite this, Suzuhara did not speak again  
for almost a minute. "I'm not sure what ta say to convince you I'm who  
I say I am."  
  
Rei did not respond, and after another silence Suzuhara sighed.  
"Do you remember before the... accident with Unit-03? We talked on the  
school rooftop. I remember I said you were worried about Ikari, and you  
said you didn't understand."  
  
Rei frowned. "That is true," she said slowly.  
  
"And nobody coulda known that but Suzuhara Touji, right?"  
  
"The conversation might have been monitored," she replied.  
  
Suzuhara laughed. "Who the hell's gonna bug a high school  
rooftop?"  
  
Rei had to admit he was right. But then... if this man really  
was Suzuhara Touji, how was he now older than her? After a moment, Rei  
asked the question out loud.  
  
Touji shook his head. "I can't know where ta start explainin'  
if you don't tell me how far back you can remember."  
  
Rei hesitated, but eventually answered. "I remember the battle  
against the Sixteenth Angel. I engaged the self-destruct, then found  
myself in the LCL."  
  
"Ah." Touji paused a moment, then began to speak. "I don't know  
that much, but here's what I know happened. You survived the battle-"  
  
"That much is apparent," Rei interrupted.  
  
Touji waved his hand. "No, not now. Then. After that, there  
was another Angel, and then the SSDF attacked Nerv. They somehow got  
their hands on the mass production Evas. Souryu fought 'em to a  
standstill, and then... Third Impact happened." Touji shrugged. "And  
after that people started wakin' up."  
  
"That does not explain the difference in our ages."  
  
Touji shrugged again. "When people return, they come back the  
way they see themselves - that's why I've got all my arms and legs  
again." He patted them as if to reassure himself they were still  
present. "So ya came back the way you remembered yourself bein', just  
like me. I just came back six years earlier."  
  
"I see." Rei was not entirely sure she did understand, but she  
was not certain he did either. Silence was all that passed between the  
two for some time.  
  
The silence was broken when Touji yawned. "Man, maybe I will  
get some sleep tonight. How 'bout you? Gettin' tired, Ayanami?"  
  
She began to shake her head, but stopped. Something was coming.  
something she did not want to miss. She could feel it. It was more  
than a little disturbing. She knew that such premonitions were worse  
than useless, yet she could not bring herself to disregard this one. It  
was foolish, but even though she recognized it the illogical feeling  
still had a hold over her.  
  
"Yo, Ayanami? Ya alright?" Touji asked.  
  
She opened her mouth to reply, but whatever words she had to say  
were lost as a roar echoed across the heavens. Both she and Touji  
looked up in time to see a ball of fire streak across the sky. As it  
passed overhead the roar intensified, until the ground seemed to be  
throbbing in time with it. Behind them they could just barely make up  
the sounds of the camp being unexpectedly roused and the resulting  
confusion.  
  
The fireball was losing altitude quickly. Rei saw what might  
have been a piece of the object at the center break off. Mere moments  
later, the ball of flame hit the ground. The ground shook, collapsing  
many of the camp's tents - some of them with people still inside. There  
was a flare of light from where the object had struck, and then darkness  
and silence.  
  
Touji rose. "That can't have landed more than a day's walk from  
here."  
  
Aida - Rei supposed he must really be her other classmate after  
all - came rushing up behind them, only half-clothed. "Touji, are you  
all right?"  
  
Suzuhara slowly nodded. "Yah."  
  
Kensuke rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"  
  
"Can't be more than a couple hours till dawn. Might as well get  
everyone up." Touji turned and began to walk back into the camp,  
Kensuke trailing behind. After a moment, Rei rose and followed.  
  
"I think everyone's already awake," Kensuke said.  
  
"Then let's get someone makin' breakfast and get ready ta move.  
We're gonna check out that meteor." As they reached the center of the  
camp, Touji yelled out, "Is everyone okay?"  
  
A few minutes later, the entire group was assembled in the  
center of the camp, and it was revealed that there were, in fact, no  
injuries more serious than a bruise. Touji quickly relayed his plan,  
and it was met with only a minimum of protest.  
  
"We were supposed to be back in the city by now," one of the men  
grumbled.  
  
"Are you that homesick already? Finally found a girlfriend,  
Aoki?" Himiko asked.  
  
"Oh, shuddup, Yamada." The woman merely laughed in reply.  
  
"Unless anyone else has any objections," Touji said, "we'll be  
leaving at dawn, so whoever drew breakfast duty for today should get to  
work on that. The rest of us, let's get the camp packed up."  
  
It was in fact, about a half hour after dawn when the squad  
finally began to move. Kensuke was once again slightly in front of most  
of the group, along with another of the men. Touji was the first of the  
main group, and Rei found herself walking beside him. Aoki and the  
remaining man were close behind, while Himiko trailed several meters  
behind them.  
  
There was little conversation as the group began their march.  
After perhaps a quarter hour they reached a cracked highway, and turned  
to follow it north. A few rusted, wrecked automobiles littered the  
road, driving home to Rei how different this world must be from the last  
she could remember. It even sounded different, she realized. She had  
never really noticed the constant background noise of machinery, but now  
that it was gone its absence was disconcerting.  
  
They made relatively fast progress on the highway, though Rei  
found herself becoming unexpectedly winded. It was irritating that she  
felt so unfit, but knew she should be in far better condition. After a  
few moment's thought, she attributed it to the fact that, if she  
understood what Touji had explained to her of 'returning', then this  
body had never before been used. If that was the case, she should  
return to her ordinary endurance within a few days, or weeks at the  
most. That thought was somewhat comforting.  
  
After perhaps an hour, they turned off the highway and onto a  
smaller side road. This road was not in such good shape, and their  
travel slowed, particularly when they encountered a high pile of rubble  
strewn across it, perhaps the remnants of a collapsed building. Kensuke  
and the other man in the lead were already near the top when Rei reached  
the rubble, and Touji quickly scrambled up after them.  
  
Still somewhat tired, Rei paused a moment to catch her breath  
before beginning the climb. This prompted Aoki to ask her if she was  
all right as he caught up with her. She replied in the affirmative, and  
began to make her way up the rubble. Aoki and the other man followed  
close behind.  
  
They were perhaps only a quarter of the way from the top when  
Rei slipped. As she scrambled to find a foothold, one of her bare feet  
landed on a sharp piece of rock. The sudden pain caused her tenuous  
balance to falter completely, and she began to fall. Fortunately, Aoki  
was close behind and managed to steady her. "What happened?" he asked.  
Rei quickly related the incident to him, wincing in pain as she tested  
her wounded foot.  
  
"Let me take a look at that," Aoki said, and Rei complied. "It  
doesn't look that bad. You're just sliced up a little. Hey, Hiruma,"  
he called to the other man, "You think you can help me get her over this  
thing?"  
  
"Sure," the man replied, working his way over to where the two  
were standing. Soon Rei found herself being half-carried up the slope  
by the two men, and they managed to make to the other side without  
further incident.  
  
As the three of them and Himiko reached the bottom, they found  
the other three men waiting for them. "What's the holdup?" Kensuke  
asked, looking impatient to be off.  
  
"The girl here's hurt her foot," Hiruma replied gruntly.  
  
"Is it bad?" Touji asked.  
  
Rei shook her head. "I will be fine," she said as she divested  
herself of the two men's assistance. Her foot still hurt a little when  
she put her weight on it, but the pain was far from unbearable.  
  
"We ought to get her some boots," Aoki said. "Otherwise it'll  
happen again."  
  
Touji nodded agreement. "Does anyone have a spare pair?"  
  
The one man whose name Rei still did not know grunted. "I have  
one, but they sure won't fit a little slip of a thing like her."  
  
"As I recall," Himiko said, "there's a crossroads not far from  
here with a shoe store. It ought to have something."  
  
Touji nodded. "Good thinkin'. I think I know where that's at.  
Ayanami, you think ya can make it a mile?"  
  
Rei nodded. "I will be fine."  
  
As the group began to move again, Aoki chuckled. "You can  
always trust the woman to know the local shopping, eh, Yamada?"  
  
Himiko delivered a mock punch to his stomach, which was met with  
mock pain. "Are you looking for another rematch, Aoki?"  
  
Aoki threw up his hands. "Of course not, o mighty mistress of  
martial arts!"  
  
Beside him, Hiruma let out a throaty chuckle. "Still haven't  
beaten her?"  
  
"Beaten her? I haven't even touched her yet!"  
  
It took the squad around a quarter of an hour to make it to the  
crossroads. As it came into sight, Kensuke yawned. "I'm getting  
hungry."  
  
"Already?" Touji asked, glancing at the sun. "Well, I suppose  
we did get started early. We can get lunch started while Ayanami gets  
her shoes. Who has that duty today?"  
  
"Nakamura, I think," Hiruma said as he seated himself on the  
sidewalk. Rei surmised that this was the name of the one person who's  
name she had not known, and was proven correct and that person started  
grumbling and searching through the squad's packs, which had already  
been strewn about the area.  
  
"Who was carrying the food, anyways?" he asked, half to himself.  
  
Rei started as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She  
instinctively broke away from it, turning around to face her assailant  
in a defensive stance. However, she relaxed slightly when she saw it  
was Aoki.  
  
Himiko snorted as she watched this. "Are you that desperate  
now, Aoki?" she asked as she walked up.  
  
Aoki threw up his hands. "I was just trying to get her  
attention! Someone ought to go with her to get the shoes. Where is  
that store, anyways?"  
  
"On the other side," Himiko said. "This way." She began to  
walk away, and Rei silently followed her. Behind them, Aoki shook his  
head, then hurried to catch up.  
  
They quickly reached the shoe store. Its glass door lay in  
several pieces on the floor, and Rei had to move carefully to avoid  
injuring her feet further. As the three entered, Aoki sneezed. "Yeesh,  
it's dusty in here."  
  
"Well, what do you expect?" Himiko asked. "It isn't like  
there's a cleaning service." She paused and turned to Rei. "What size  
shoe do you wear?" Rei told her, and Himiko nodded. "We should be able  
to find that easily enough."  
  
The three began to search the store, and Rei quickly located a  
pair of boots that fit well enough on a shelf near the back of the  
store. They were somewhat uncomfortable without socks, but they would  
serve for the moment. As she opened her mouth to inform her two  
companions that she was done, she was stopped as a low growl sounded  
from behind her.  
  
She slowly turned around to see a large black dog. Several  
long, jagged scars ran down its sides, and one of its eyes seemed to  
have been ripped out. It began to advance, lean muscles rippling under  
the dark fur, and she slowly retreated before it. Her eyes darted to  
either side, searching for a means of escape and not finding one.  
  
"Ayanami?" Aoki's voice came from behind her, but she dared not  
risk turning away from the dog to look. He uttered a curse as he saw  
the dog, and Rei heard the distinctive sound of a sword being pulled  
from its sheath. "Yamada!" he yelled. "Get over here!"  
  
Rei heard him approaching. "Get behind me," he said, and Rei  
complied. Aoki swung his crude shortsword in a slow, low arc, forcing  
the dog to back up slightly. It growled at him, and this time the sound  
was answered by several other growls from other parts of the store.  
"Great," he muttered. "We've found a pack's den."  
  
The dog suddenly started and fell over, a thrown dagger  
protruding from the back of its skull. Himiko appeared out of the murky  
half-darkness and pulled the dagger back out. "You two all right?" she  
asked. She hardly waited for Aoki's nod before continuing. "It sounds  
like there's maybe six of them, but they're further back. We ought to  
be able to get out of here."  
  
Aoki nodded, and the three began to quietly head for the exit.  
However, as it came into view, they were forced to halt at the sight of  
an astoundingly large dog blocking the exit. As the dog spotted them,  
it sat back on its haunches and let out a loud howl. Moments later  
answering barks came from the rear of the store, and the three could  
hear the other dogs moving towards them.  
  
"Great," Aoki muttered as he tightened his grip on his sword.  
"Just great."  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Author's Random Ramblings  
  
1) Thanks of course go to my prereader Ryan Hupp for his (almost real-  
time!) help in the writing of this chapter.  
  
2) If you're familiar with my previous work(s), you might notice I'm  
trying a rather different style of writing in this one. Specifically,  
I'm aiming for a strictly third-person limited point of view (though  
that point of view will change from chapter to chapter), as well as  
avoiding the use of artificial scene dividers. I'm also endeavoring to  
include a great deal more detail and description in this one, though I'm  
unsure of how successful that effort has been. Any comments on how well  
(or poorly, for that matter) I have achieved these goals are most  
welcome.  
  
3) In fact, any and all C&C of any sort is greatly appreciated.  
  
Started: April 22, 2003   
Draft Finished: May 02, 2003   
Draft Released: May 02, 2003   
Final Completed: May 05, 2003 


	3. Chapter 2: Omen

Fallen  
A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic  
By: Aaron Nowack  
  
Chapter 2: Omen  
  
***********************************************************************  
Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is not mine, but instead belongs to  
Gainax and Hideako Anno. The text of this fanfic is mine, however, and  
may not be used without permission. The Power of Cheese compels you!  
***********************************************************************  
  
Suzuhara Touji was not prone to deep thoughts. Indeed, he was  
known as almost anything but a great thinker. He was well aware of, and  
indeed more than content with, this fact. Back when such things had  
mattered far more than they did today, he had been at best indifferent  
towards his education. He had, in fact, in his younger years been  
something of a bully, often convincing others to follow his commands  
through the strength of his fists, rather than that of his arguments.  
  
Had the world continued as it had once been, he would not ever  
have amounted to much, he knew. He might have been able to make some  
sort of a living off of his physical strength, but it would have likely  
been a poor one. When he had been crippled, even that possibility had  
vanished, leaving him with nothing but the generosity of Nerv to rely  
upon.  
  
In this world, though... in this world Suzuhara Touji had done  
more than amount to much. This world had dire need of people like him.  
He was one of the not much more than a hundred people who stood between  
the people of Tokyo-4 and pillage, starvation, and eventual death. Not  
only that, but he was one of the best of those few.  
  
They were called scouts, but their duties extended far beyond  
simple patrols and exploration. Tokyo-4 was not the only settlement to  
have risen up in the aftermath of Third Impact, and it was the scouts  
who maintained relations, such as they were, with those other groups.  
Between the settlements lay vast stretches of uncontrolled territory,  
and those spaces were home to uncountably many groups of bandits, some  
numbering over a hundred themselves, for there were always those who  
found it easier to take from others than to make for themselves.  
  
Despite these accomplishments, the fact remained that Touji was  
not a deep thinker. Yet, as he sat on a cracked sidewalk, idly  
sharpening his large, if crude, broadsword, he found himself lost in  
thought, countless figments floating through his head, being replaced as  
quickly as he could consider them, and he was well aware of the catalyst  
that had provoked this storm.  
  
Ayanami. He had never expected her to return. Nobody had.  
After the first few years, the pace of returns had slowed to a crawl, so  
any new arrival was an unexpected event. However, Rei in particular...  
he would have expected to see just about anyone more than her. Very  
little was known about what exactly had occurred six years ago, but he  
had heard enough fragmentary testimonies to conclude that Ayanami had  
been intimately involved. For her to return... he could not think  
anything but that it must have some greater meaning.  
  
As, he felt, must the dream that had awakened him the previous  
night. He could not truly recall it; in his memory it was little more  
than fleeting, unknowable images and strong feelings. However, it stuck  
with him in a way that his more ordinary dreams did not. He could still  
remember the raw, unreasoning panic that had gripped him when he had  
awoken, a feeling matched in intensity by only one other he had ever  
experienced... one he deeply hoped he would never feel again.  
Fortunately, he had little fear of that ever occurring.  
  
Another thought presented itself - what of Ayanami's memory  
loss? Everyone seemed to have some - he himself was missing most of a  
day, from what he could gather. Yet for most, it was no more than a  
matter of hours, at most a day or two. Ayanami had seemingly lost more  
than a month, by far the most of anyone he had heard of. Another odd  
fact, one of many that had presented itself the previous day. Far too  
many to be a coincidence, he thought.  
  
That was why he had decided to examine the site of the meteor  
landing. He knew it was a totally irrational feeling, but he felt that  
something surrounded by such odd events had to be important. There had  
to be some significance to the past night's events. More than that, he  
felt that something dangerous was coming. There was no real basis for  
the feeling, no more than a dream and coincidence, but Touji always  
trusted his gut feelings.  
  
"Ah, finally. What in the world was the food doing here?"  
Nakamura Katai said, holding up a small package in triumph. "I thought  
I'd never find it."  
  
"Where was it?" Kensuke asked, looking up from the squad's small  
two-way radio transmitter. It had broken during the course of their  
patrol, and he had been trying without success to repair it for the past  
several days.  
  
"It's all in the same bag as the dirty laundry," Katai replied  
as he began to busy himself preparing lunch.  
  
Hiruma Kuro, the squad's oldest member, made a disgusted noise.  
"I know things were confused this morning, but who would've done that?"  
  
Touji decided to change the subject, as he thought he recalled  
packing the food that morning. "What have we got for lunch, anyways?"  
  
"Not much," Katai replied. "We were supposed to finish the  
patrol yesterday, and we do have an extra mouth to feed - even if she  
doesn't look like she eats much."  
  
"We'll have to forage tonight, then," Kuro said. "Or hunt." He  
fingered the bow that lay by his side.  
  
Touji grunted in agreement, then bent himself back to the task  
of sharpening his blade. An instant later, this task was abandoned. A  
howl echoed throughout the shopping center, sending chills down Touji's  
spine.  
  
"Dogs," Hiruma said. He grabbed his bow and quickly strung it.  
  
Katai spat as he set the food aside and reached for his sword.  
"Just what we need."  
  
"Sounds like they're on the other side of the building," Kensuke  
commented.  
  
Touji grimaced, rising. "And so are the others." Kensuke  
blinked and scrambled up as Touji continued. "Aida, you guard the  
packs. Nakamura, Hiruma, follow me."  
  
The three quickly followed the other group's path, and were soon  
able to hear the sounds of combat. When they turned the corner and were  
able to see the shoe store, they were met by two large, mongrel dogs,  
which quickly moved to intercept their path.  
  
Kuro was swifter, though, and was able to shoot the arrow he had  
nocked before they could close the distance. It hit the lead dog in the  
shoulder, and the beast fell. The second dog turned to flee, but Touji  
stepped forward and cleaved it nearly in two with a two-handed swing of  
his massive sword.  
  
The dog Kuro had hit whimpered in pain as it struggled to rise.  
Katai walked over and silenced it with his sword. "I had a dog like  
that before the Impact," he commented, moments before the three raced  
towards the shoe store, spurred on by a sudden, human cry of pain. In a  
matter of seconds, they were at the store's door.  
  
Inside, Aoki had fallen to one knee, clutching his bloody sword  
arm while his blade lay discarded on the floor beside him. A gigantic  
black dog loomed over him, but as it heard footsteps behind it, it  
whirled about to face the newcomers, a low growl in its throat. Behind  
it, twin daggers appeared in Himiko's hands, while Rei took a step  
backwards, away from the confrontation.  
  
The black dog leapt at Touji, and he moved his sword to block  
the attack, but not quickly enough. The dog got inside his reach and  
bit at his leg, though fortunately Touji was able to dodge fast enough  
that its sharp teeth met only air. He cursed, trying to back away far  
enough to swing his sword, but the dog pressed forward.  
  
Himeko hurled a dagger that struck a glancing blow on the dog's  
back, but that was not enough to put the beast down. A moment later  
Touji's retreat had taken him out of the store's narrow entryway, and  
Katai immediately moved to flank the dog, and quickly delivered a solid  
strike on it. This gave Touji enough time to back away far enough to  
finish the dog off with a swift blow.  
  
Even as the dog's final death cry sounded, Kuro shouted a  
warning. Behind Rei, another dog leapt from the darkness. Cursing,  
Touji dropped his blade and drew his pistol from its sheath, quickly  
taking aim. "Everyone down," he yelled, mere instants before he fired.  
  
The shot missed, and the dog barreled into Rei, snarling and  
snapping at the girl. She toppled, and the dog struck for her throat.  
Before it could finish her off, Himiko killed it with another thrown  
dagger.  
  
Touji hurriedly entered the store, followed closely by Kuro and  
Katai. He paused to help Aoki up, asking, "Are you all right, Toru?" he  
asked.  
  
"I'm fine," the other man replied. "What about the girl?"  
  
"I am unhurt." All eyes turned at that simple statement.  
Unnoticed, Rei had risen from where she had fallen, and the truth of her  
assessment was self-evident. Even her borrowed clothing was undamaged.  
  
"But that dog-" Kuro began, only to be cut off by Himiko.  
  
"There are some more dogs in the back. Let's get out of here  
before they work up the courage to attack."  
  
Touji nodded in agreement, and they all swiftly left the store.  
Less than a minute later, they had reached the campsite and rejoined  
Kensuke, who reported that no dogs had come near. He then began to  
bandage Aoki's wound, which had proven to be relatively minor. As he  
continued to tend to the wound, the others busied themselves repacking  
and preparing to leave. None of them had any intention of eating lunch  
near a dog pack.  
  
It was a shame that they couldn't take the time to butcher at  
least some of the dogs, but they all knew that they should get out of  
the area as quickly as possible. They'd been pretty lucky to escape as  
uunharmed as they were, and there was no telling how long it might take  
for the remainder of the pack to strike.  
  
In a matter of minutes, they were on the move again, and soon  
the shopping center was well behind them. It took half an hour to make  
up the distance they had traveled out of their way, but the lack of a  
break for lunch still put them well ahead of where they would have been  
without the detour. Touji ignored Aoki's half-serious griping about  
that lack and the resulting banter.  
  
Instead, his unusually unruly thoughts focused on the young girl  
- it was so odd to think of Ayanami like that - who walked beside and  
slightly behind him. Every so often he snuck a glance at her, almost to  
remind himself that she was still there. Each time he did, he marveled  
anew at the latest mystery her presence brought.  
  
What had happened to her, at the end of the fight? Touji  
clearly remembered seeing the last dog biting and clawing at Ayanami,  
and her falling under the onslaught. He had expected to see her at  
worst dead, at best seriously wounded. Yet she had suffered not even a  
scratch. Ayanami was a strange girl, but she still bled just like  
anyone else. He had seen her come to class wounded often enough to know  
that.  
  
After tripping over a fairly large rock, Touji forced himself to  
force his distracting musings on the subject aside. Whatever had  
happened, he could do nothing about it, and was not likely to discover  
anything on his own. He would simply have to keep an eye out for  
anything else unusual about... Ayanami. Touji felt like hitting  
himself. The girl was walking not five feet behind him. He could ask  
her what had happened! It couldn't hurt. Well, not much, in any case.  
  
"Ayanami," Touji said, slowing slightly to allow the girl to  
catch up with him. After several long moments passed with no response  
from her, he repeated himself.  
  
"I heard the first time," she said flatly, not looking at Touji.  
  
"Then why didn't you answer?" Touji asked.  
  
At this, Ayanami's eyes did flicker sideways to glance at him.  
"You did not ask me anything."  
  
"Err... I guess you're right." Touji scratched the back of his  
head, trying to come up with a subtle way to broach the subject he was  
interested in. "Ummm... back at the fight, how did ya keep from getting  
hurt? It sure looked like that dog had got you pretty bad at first."  
Well, this was Ayanami. There wasn't much point in subtlety with her.  
  
Ayanami stopped walking suddenly, and Touji stumbled as he tried  
to stop his own motion. Rei closed her eyes for a moment, then  
answered. "I... I do not know." To Touji's ear she sounded quite  
disturbed. Before he could come up with a reply, Ayanami started  
walking again at a rapid pace.  
  
Touji raced after her. "Whoa, wait up a moment!" Rei slowed  
her walk, but only slightly. Touji thought he could feel most of the  
squad's eyes on him - it seemed as though their conversation had  
attracted an audience. As he caught up with Rei, he asked her quietly,  
"What... what do ya remember about it?"  
  
"I do not know." Rei's voice was, if anything, even flatter  
than it had been before her unusual display of emotion, and her eyes  
remained fixed on the path before her.  
  
"Well, I know but... I mean, did the dog manage to bite ya or  
what?"  
  
"I do not wish to discuss this."  
  
"I... see." Touji hesitated a moment, then continued. "Well,  
what do ya want to talk about then? I can tell ya 'bout Tokyo-4-"  
  
"I do not wish to talk," Rei said, and irritation was evident in  
her voice. She sped up, moving so quickly that she almost ran into  
Nakamura's back.  
  
Touji stared after her. Something truly had to be bothering  
Ayanami, for her to have such an outburst. Well, it was an outburst for  
her. He'd gone to school with her for years, and he'd never seen her  
that upset. Even Soryuu hadn't been able to get that much of a reaction  
from her! He slowly shook his head as he continued to walk. Whatever it  
was, he wasn't going to find out. Pressing the girl would be fruitless,  
and likely counterproductive.  
  
Besides, he supposed he'd be a little out of sorts if he'd  
suddenly awoken in an almost unimaginable future, then almost gotten  
killed by a feral dog. Best to give Ayanami some time to adjust and  
recover. Even if she was physically fine, her mental state had to be at  
the least upset.  
  
Touji started as he heard a sudden, pained curse from behind  
him. His head whirled about, but he soon relaxed as he saw that it had  
been nothing more than Aoki probing his wound. As he picked up his  
pace, he heard the other man mutter a few more choice words under his  
breath.  
  
"Don't play with it," Yamada said. "You'll just make it worse."  
  
"Oh, shut up," Aoki replied, and the conversation deteriorated  
from there.  
  
Smiling despite himself, Touji turned his head back again and  
said, "Quiet down! Haven't you two had enough fighting for today?"  
  
Behind the two, Hiruma chuckled. "Yeah. The rest of us don't  
want to hear your lovers' quarrels."  
  
"Wh-what?! We- we aren't-" Aoki sputtered.  
  
Himiko merely snorted, but she did not continue the argument.  
Touji smiled again as silence descended on his squad for the moment.  
Yet, after only a few minutes, he heard Katai and Kensuke arguing over  
something. He sped up and walked past Rei to approach the two. "What's  
up?" he asked as he neared.  
  
The two men looked at each other, then Kensuke spoke. "We're  
not sure, but it looks like the meteor may have attracted some other  
people. Look," he said, pointing across the wide plain they were  
traversing. "See that cloud of dust?"  
  
Touji shaded his eyes, and after a moment nodded. There did  
seem to be a dust cloud just on the horizon. "It could just be the  
wind."  
  
Nakamura nodded. "It could be. Or it could be a car."  
  
Touji noted the cloud's direction, "From home, maybe?"  
  
"Maybe," Kensuke said. "Maybe not."  
  
Touji grimaced. It was rare to find a bandit group that was  
organized enough, but occasionally one did salvage a mostly-intact  
vehicle and lay claim to a gas station's tanks. The added mobility made  
those groups very dangerous. "True. Just keep an eye out, and we'll  
have to be careful when we get to the site."  
  
The two men nodded, and Touji fell back to spread the warning.  
Rei did not respond when he told her, but he could feel her tensing  
slightly. When he told the other three, the response was little  
different. Yamada merely nodded, while Aoki grumbled slightly under his  
breath. Hiruma took his bow off his shoulder and restrung it, but did  
not yet nock an arrow.  
  
This complete, Touji moved back towards the front off the  
column. As he passed Rei, she spoke. "Suzuhara-san. If we encounter  
hostiles, what should I do?"  
  
Touji frowned. "I guess ya should just try and stay outa the  
fight." He paused. He would feel a lot more comfortable if she had  
some way to defend herself. "Do ya know how to use any weapons?"  
  
"I have been trained in the personal analogues of most weapons  
available for the Evangelions."  
  
Touji searched his memories, trying to remember what exact  
weapons that implied. Ah, the progressive knife! "So ya could use a  
dagger?"  
  
Rei nodded.  
  
"Then go on back and ask Yamada for one of hers. That way  
you'll have somethin' to defend yourself with if things go bad."  
  
Rei nodded again, and began to fall back to where Yamada was  
walking. Touji let out a soft sigh. This was starting to get much more  
complicated than he had thought it would. And to think that he had  
thought he'd be back in Tokyo-4 by now!  
  
Something stirred. Touji couldn't tell what, but there was a  
definite change in the air. He stopped, ears straining but hearing only  
the slow whistle of the wind. Looking around, he noticed that Rei too  
had stopped. The others moved forward a few steps more, then halted as  
well, puzzlement evident on their faces.  
  
"What's wrong?" Himiko asked.  
  
Touji frowned. "I don't..." He trailed off as his straining  
senses heard something. A peculiar ringing, almost too soft to hear.  
Each chime resounded inside him, and he could feel raw terror crawling  
its way into his mind. With a sudden effort, he forced it down and  
spoke. "Do you hear that?" He noticed that he was spasmodically  
clenching and relaxing his right fist, and he forced himself to stop.  
  
"Hear what?" Aoki said.  
  
"I hear it." Rei's quiet whisper seemed far louder than it was.  
  
Ahead of Touji, Kensuke shook his head. "I don't hear  
anything." Similar negatives soon came from the other members of the  
squad.  
  
The ringing stopped, and Touji shuddered. "Let's get moving,"  
he said, his voice weak. As they began to resume their journey, Rei  
walked up beside him. For several minutes they walked along side each  
other in silence, until the dull aftertaste of terror had left Touji's  
mouth and he had began to wonder whether he had imagined the whole  
incident.  
  
Then, Rei spoke. "Is that... usual?" Her voice was filled with  
hesitation and fear - not emotions Touji had ever expected Ayanami to  
show.  
  
He shook his head. "No." He found himself clenching his fists  
again, and slowly relaxed them.  
  
Rei frowned. "It felt familiar." This time it was puzzlement  
that showed in her voice.  
  
Touji opened his mouth to state the opposite, then reconsidered.  
He could remember one thing that had felt like that, one memory he had  
tried for years to forget. He glanced sideways at the young girl, then  
slowly spoke. "I felt like that once before." He paused. "In the  
Evangelion, when the Angel..." He did not complete the sentence, and  
felt there was no need to.  
  
Rei nodded once, then let the distance between her and Touji  
increase, signaling an end to her unusually talkative mood. Touji  
smiled weakly. At least Rei seemed to be getting back to normal  
quickly, even if he was still shaken by the strange occurrence.  
  
Something crawled at the base of his spine as he remembered the  
sensation of purest, absolute terror. He wished he could think that it  
was just nerves. If that feeling had any basis in reality, he was not  
looking forward to meeting its cause. He could only hope he wasn't  
walking straight toward it.  
  
Fortunately, the only other incident to occur before nightfall  
was less disturbing. Hiruma managed to shoot a passing bird, and the  
squad was delayed slightly while it was plucked and cleaned. This took  
only a few minutes, and the squad soon continued on its way. With the  
rest of the rations, the fresh meat could just be stretched to feed  
everyone for the night, but they would need to take time out to find  
more food tomorrow.  
  
The sun was just sinking beneath the horizon when the meteor's  
landing site came into view. A thin plume of smoke rose into the  
darkening sky, though Touji could not tell whether its cause was the  
meteor or a campfire of some other group come to investigate it. He  
gestured harshly for a halt, and within moments this was accomplished.  
  
"Let's wait till it gets a little darker before we move any  
closer," Touji said. "If there's anybody there, no reason to let them  
know we're coming." He paused. "Everybody be ready, but nobody make  
any hostile moves. They might be friendly, and there's no reason to get  
into a pointless fight."  
  
This statement was met with general agreement, and they settled  
down to wait in the shadow of a small hill. As he sat, Touji gazed  
worriedly at the still-visible smoke. He still did not know what caused  
it, but he suspected that, even if the smoke was not a sign of such,  
someone had beaten them to the site. But who?  
  
When only the tiniest sliver of the sun still hung over the  
horizon, Touji rose. "Let's go," he said in a soft whisper, and the  
squad came to its feet. The quickly circled the hill that they had  
sheltered behind, and began to move towards a thin line of hills, the  
sole obstacle between them and their destination.  
  
As he neared the hills, Touji could hear the sounds of people on  
the other side. He loosened his sword in its sheath. If there was to  
be fighting, it would be soon. At the base of the hill, he saw Rei next  
to him, and he flashed her a smile he wasn't sure she saw in the dim  
twilight. "Don't slip this time." He thought he saw her nod curtly in  
response as he began to climb.  
  
They all made good speed, and he was halfway up the hill when he  
heard the voice from above him. "None of you move or we shoot!"  
  
He could feel Ayanami tensing nearby, but it was a grin that  
came to his face as he placed the voice. "Ah, get yer finger of the  
trigger, Uoya! Don't want you to screw up and waste bullets!"  
  
A rueful chuckle came in response. "It had to be you, didn't  
it, Suzuhara? Get your squad up here, we were about to eat dinner."  
  
Touji's stomach rumbled in response, and moments later he had  
reached the crest of the hill. As he took in the small camp on the  
edges of the crater, he turned to Uoya. "Weren't you supposed to be  
resting in the city?"  
  
The other squad leader shrugged. "Our glorious leaders wanted  
to check this out, so we took the jeeps down. Come on, let's get you  
all settled in, and you can tell me who that new girl is." Uoya gave  
Rei a curious glance.  
  
A few minutes later, as his squad was setting up camp on the  
outskirts of the already existing one, Touji heard another familiar  
voice. "I thought I smelled stooges! Shinji was starting to get  
worried since you didn't radio in."  
  
Touji turned, and smiled. "Nice ta see ya too, Soryuu. I  
didn't know you were here."  
  
The redhead shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea, after..."  
She trailed off, staring over Touji's shoulder. "Is... is that..." she  
began, her voice trembling.  
  
Touji looked behind him and saw Ayanami. He turned back to  
Asuka and nodded. She shuddered slightly. "I never thought she'd come  
back."  
  
"Neither did I," Touji replied.  
  
Asuka walked over to the other girl. "Wo... Ayanami?"  
  
Rei nodded. "You are Pilot Soryuu."  
  
It was not a question, but Asuka answered anyways. "Yes.  
Though I haven't been called that in a long time."  
  
Rei simply nodded again.  
  
Asuka stared at her a moment, then spoke again. "It's... good  
to have you back." To Touji's ears she sounded like she was forcing  
herself to say the words. When Rei did not respond, instead simply  
staring at the nearby campfire, Asuka walked back to Touji. "I'd  
forgotten how... creepy she was." She suddenly shook her head. "I  
almost forgot! You'll never guess who Kumon's squad brought in last  
week!"  
  
Touji felt a sudden hope in his heart. "Was it..."  
  
Asuka's face fell. "No." She was silent a moment. Then a  
smile appeared on her face. "But it was one of your old flames."  
  
Touji raised an eyebrow.  
  
Asuka sighed. "Not in a guessing mood, I take it. It's  
Misato!"  
  
"Really?" Touji said. "That's wonderful."  
  
"She's got a lot of adjusting to do," Asuka said with a laugh.  
"She can't quite handle the fact that we aren't kids anymore."  
  
Touji glanced sideways at where Rei still sat motionlessly.  
"Speaking of adjusting," he began, only to be cut off when Asuka waved  
him off.  
  
"Not now, Suzuhara. I'm hungry, and not in the mood. Let's go  
get something to eat, and then I'll show you the..." She trailed off,  
shaking her head. "We'll talk about that later." She paused, then  
raised her voice. "Wonder... Ayanami."  
  
Rei's head turned to look at her.  
  
"We're getting dinner. You can come with us, if you like."  
  
To Touji's surprise, Rei rose. As she neared, Asuka smiled,  
though it seemed a little forced. "Come on. Let's eat."  
  
A few moments later, Touji and Rei were seated around a  
different campfire, waiting for Asuka to return with the food. Rei  
gazed into the fire's depths, as though she were searching for  
something. After a few moments' awkward silence, Touji forced himself  
to break it.  
  
"Are... are you all right?" he asked. When Rei did not respond,  
he continued. "I know this has to be hard for you. It was hard enough  
for me, and I came back after less than a couple months."  
  
Rei did not speak, and Touji felt rather awkward. "Err... if  
you want to talk about anything, Ayanami, I'll listen." He scratched  
the back of his head nervously. "That's all I wanted to say."  
  
Rei opened her mouth, but Touji would never know what she was  
about to say as Asuka returned, bearing two small trays. "Here we go.  
We have some random meat - I didn't have the heart to ask what - and  
some roasted vegetables for you, Ayanami." She set the trays down where  
everyone could easily reach them and took a seat next to Touji.  
  
For several minutes, there was little conversation as the three  
concentrated on eating. Eventually, Asuka began to speak. "I know this  
is going to sound really weird, but... did either of you feel anything  
strange this afternoon?"  
  
Touji and Rei shared a glance, then the man spoke. "Yes."  
  
Asuka breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I thought I was going  
crazy. Nobody else felt it."  
  
"We were the only ones in my squad," Touji said, and Asuka  
frowned.  
  
"Strange," she said.  
  
"We are the ones who can synchronize with Eva." The other two  
looked at Rei, surprised that she had spoken.  
  
After a moment, Asuka nodded curtly. "Did either of you have a  
dream last night?" Touji and Rei nodded in unison, and Asuka muttered a  
German curse under her breath. "Shinji did too."  
  
Touji noticed Rei stiffen at the mention of Ikari, but she did  
not speak. He, however, did. "I don't like this."  
  
For some time, the three were silent. When only a few scraps of  
meat remained, Touji spoke again. "Soryuu. What about the meteor?"  
  
Asuka started. "The meteor." She rose. "Come on. You too,  
Wondergirl. You should see it."  
  
Touji stood, a churning feeling settling into the bottom of his  
stomach. "What... what is it?"  
  
Asuka shook her head. "You should see it yourself."  
  
Frowning, Touji followed her as she strode through the camp, and  
Rei trailed after him. Along the way, they passed Kensuke, who was once  
again fiddling with the innards of the squad's broken radio. "Yo,  
Suzuhara!" he called. "What's up?"  
  
"We're... going to go look at the meteor," Touji replied after  
the barest instants hesitation.  
  
"Cool," Kensuke said, putting the radio down. "I think I'll tag  
along."  
  
Asuka muttered something, of which Touji caught only the tail  
end. "...'ll probably get a kick out of it."  
  
The four now moved to the edge of the camp, Asuka pausing only  
to grab a torch from Uoya. Soon they reached the crater's edge, though  
Touji could not make out the bottom. "Be careful," Asuka said. "The  
footing isn't good, and there are still some hot spots. One of Uoya's  
squad burned herself pretty badly."  
  
Touji frowned. "Maybe we should just wait till dawn? It'll be  
easier with better light."  
  
Asuka shook her head in reply. "You need to see this now." She  
laughed bitterly. "Though you probably won't thank me for it."  
  
As they prepared to descend the steep slope, Touji turned to  
Rei. Before he could speak, she spoke. "I will not slip."  
  
Touji blinked in surprise, and merely shook his head at Asuka's  
puzzled glance. She shrugged, and started down the slope. It was tough  
going, and Touji nearly slipped more than once. Fortunately, there was  
a relatively safe path already marked out, so all he had to do was  
follow the red glow of Asuka's torch. Still, he breathed a sigh of  
relief when they all reached the bottom safely.  
  
He frowned as he looked toward the center of the crater, seeing  
a massive, oddly shaped shadow that he couldn't quite make out. Asuka  
rested a moment before continuing across the crater floor. The other  
three followed after her.  
  
The churning feeling in his gut strengthened as they neared the  
object - he couldn't call it a meteor - and the smell of burnt flesh  
filled his nostrils, almost making him wish he hadn't eaten yet. As the  
object drew ever closer, his mind began to make patterns, patterns that  
he did his best to force himself to believe were coincidence. It wasn't  
possible. It simply wasn't!  
  
Finally, the object loomed overhead, many times the height of a  
man. Asuka raised her torch to the object's side, illuminating part of  
it. Kensuke let out a tortured gasp, and Touji was sure he saw Rei  
start, though within moments the girl's features were once again  
controlled.  
  
Touji himself simply stared at anything but the Latin  
characters. His eyes wandered along the metallic plating, noting its  
scorched and battered condition. He kept trying to tell himself that  
this couldn't be what he thought it was, that this was some sort of  
joke. Yet he knew that this could not be the case.  
  
Slowly, unwillingly, his eyes returned to the writing. He  
traced it in his mind, mouthing the syllables, trying to make sense of  
the occurrence. Why? How? Why now? What did it mean? Those and a  
thousand more questions whirled through his mind as he stared, unable to  
tear his eyes away.  
  
Ikari was not going to be pleased. For some reason, that  
thought was stuck in his head. He had... no, they all had tried so hard  
to forget how the world had become what is was. To forget all that had  
occurred six years ago. Forget the pain, forget the tears, forget the  
blood. To forget and heal. Slowly, all those memories had been pushed  
into the background by the never-ending struggle to survive and rebuild.  
  
But now, these simple words brought it all crashing back. It  
wasn't fair. They had thought these words, and all they represented,  
were long behind them. Even if this event had no greater meaning, was  
no warning, it had already shattered that illusion. These simple  
words...  
  
Evangelion Unit-01.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Author's Random Ramblings  
  
1) Thanks go to Ryan Hupp and Angus MacSpon for their efforts in  
prereading this chapter.  
  
2) C&C of any sort is, of course, greatly desired and appreciated.  
  
3) The prelude and previous chapter of this fanfic can be found at my  
website ( http://www.geocities.com/anowack/fallen.html ).  
  
Started: May 13, 2003  
Draft Finished: May 27, 2003  
Draft Released: May 31, 2003  
Final Released: June 05, 2003 


	4. Chapter 3: Home

Fallen  
A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic  
By: Aaron Nowack  
  
Chapter 3: Home  
  
***********************************************************************  
Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is not mine, but instead belongs to  
Gainax and Hideako Anno. The text of this fanfic is mine, however, and  
may not be used without permission. Corn for the Corn God!  
***********************************************************************  
  
Asuka slowly lowered the torch, allowing the words to fade back  
into the surrounding darkness. As the shadows shifted, for a moment it  
seemed as though the gargantuan Eva was moving. She shuddered briefly  
at the thought. As close as they were, the Eva could crush all the  
humans gathered beneath it without even noticing.  
  
Fortunately, it had shown no signs of life, at least while Asuka  
had been looking. Somehow though, she did not find that thought very  
comforting. She had seen this very same machine seemingly return from  
the dead far too many times to be sure that it had met its final end.  
She couldn't shake the suspicion that, as soon as her back was turned,  
it would strike.  
  
The wind shifted slightly, and Asuka wrinkled her nose as the  
stench of burnt flesh renewed its assault on her sense of smell. Behind  
her, she heard someone - she guessed it was Aida - gagging slightly.  
The noise seemed to shake the newcomers out of their reverie, as it was  
followed by the shuffling of feet and a few nervous coughs.  
  
Aida gagged again. "Smells even worse than your room, Touji."  
The other man grunted irritably, but there was no other reply to Aida's  
weak joke. After far too long, the wind shifted again, relieving the  
stench somewhat.  
  
Finally, Touji spoke. "This can't be good."  
  
Asuka snorted. "No, really?"  
  
"Why?" A barely repressed shudder ran down Asuka's spine at the  
flat voice. Just hearing her brought back unpleasant memories and  
emotions she had thought long since discarded. It was more than a  
little irritating that Ayanami still... unnerved her so. Damn it, she  
wasn't a kid anymore! Sure, Ayanami was weird, but it wasn't anything  
to get upset about. None of the whackos back home got to her like this,  
and there were one or two who made Ayanami look positively normal.  
  
She forced herself to turn around and face the others, even as  
Touji spoke again. "What do ya mean, Ayanami?"  
  
"Why do you say this cannot be good?"  
  
Asuka laughed. "How could it be good?"  
  
Touji merely sighed. "There's been way too many weird things  
goin' on. This, those weird dreams-" Aida blinked at that. "-even you  
comin' back, Ayanami. They've gotta be related."  
  
Ayanami paused a moment before responding. "That is possible."  
Her voice seemed to indicate she found that unlikely, but it was always  
hard to tell with her.  
  
"Wait a minute," Aida said. "What do dreams have to do with any  
of this?"  
  
Touji opened his mouth to speak, but Asuka interrupted him.  
"Can't we talk about this somewhere a little more pleasant?" She  
sniffed to emphasize her point, and immediately regretted it as it  
brought the horrid stench back to the forefront of her mind, and with it  
a fresh wave of nausea.  
  
Fortunately, the others soon saw her point. Well, the two men  
did. Ayanami didn't seem to care either way. As they all began to walk  
away, Asuka threw a glance over her shoulder at the fallen Eva. It  
remained dark, silent, and - most importantly - unmoving. She wasn't  
sure what else she expected, but she still couldn't shake the feeling  
that it was merely waiting for an opportunity to... do what?  
  
"It is rather strange seeing it broken like that." Asuka  
blinked, and it took her a moment to notice Aida walking beside her. An  
unusually thoughtful look appeared on his face as he too glanced back.  
"It looks mostly intact thought. I wonder if Ibuki-san could get it  
working again..."  
  
Asuka cut him off with a growl. "Don't even think about it!"  
  
Aida blinked. "Why not? It would certainly be useful. We  
could use it for reconstruction, and none of the bandit groups would  
even be able to think of-"  
  
"No!" Asuka replied, a little too loudly and a little too  
harshly. "And that is final."  
  
"What are you two arguing about?" Touji asked from behind them.  
  
Asuka slowed slightly to allow the other man and Ayanami to  
catch up, and after a moment Aida did as well. "Well?" Touji asked as  
soon as this was done.  
  
Asuka snorted. "This... stooge here wants to rebuild the Eva!"  
  
Aida sighed. "Well, why not? We probably won't be able to do  
it, but if we could..." He trailed off as he realized his old friend  
was staring at him as if he had grown a second head. "What? I know you  
two have a lot of bad memories about this, but-"  
  
"You don't know anything about it, Aida Kensuke," Asuka said,  
anger boiling over inside her. "Have you ever been inside one of those  
things?"  
  
"As a matter of fact," Aida began.  
  
Asuka let out a groan of frustration. "Forget I asked. Just  
accept that that thing is going to stay right there, if I have anything  
to say about it." She quickened her pace. She had absolutely no desire  
to talk about such a moronic idea.  
  
Behind her, she heard the conversation continuing. "Trust me on  
this, Kensuke. She's right."  
  
Aida sighed at Touji's statement. "What about you, Ayanami?  
What do you think?"  
  
There was a moment of silence before the girl replied. "I do  
not think it would be... advisable."  
  
Asuka snorted to herself. "Even Wondergirl can see that it's a  
stupid idea."  
  
"Hey." She started as she heard the quiet voice from  
immediately behind her, but relaxed as her hurried glance back saw that  
it was only Suzuhara.  
  
"I know I'm distracted when I let you sneak up on me."  
  
Touji smirked. "Hey, I am a scout. Sneaking up on people is my  
job."  
  
"I suppose," Asuka replied, and for a moment they walked  
together in silence.  
  
Then, Touji broke it. "Listen, Asuka... I agree with ya, but ya  
shouldn't have blown up at Kensuke like that."  
  
Asuka grumbled. "It's such a... stupid idea!"  
  
Touji threw up his hands. "Hey, I said I agree with ya! I  
might not have piloted one of those as much as you or Ikari, but I've  
done it!" He sighed. "But Kensuke hasn't, Asuka."  
  
Asuka forced herself to calm down somewhat, and once she had she  
sighed as well. "You're right. I'll apologize to him once I'm calmer.  
But he'd better realize that no means no."  
  
Touji smiled slightly. "Trust me, I agree."  
  
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Taking advice from a stooge like you.  
I thought I'd never see the day."  
  
"Night," Touji commented, glancing up at the starry heavens.  
From behind them they could hear Aida trying, with a notable lack of  
success, to entice Ayanami into conversation.  
  
"Oh, shut up already, stooge," Asuka said after a moment, but  
there was no venom in her voice. Soon after that, they reached the  
crater walls, and there was no conversation as the four made their way  
back up the treacherous path.  
  
When they reached the top and were once again inside the camp,  
Touji started to say something, but Asuka cut him off with a wave of a  
hand and a yawn. "Suzuhara, it's way too late now. Go see to your  
squad. We'll talk in the morning."  
  
He began to protest but Asuka waved him off again and walked  
away, stifling another yawn. It was late, and she'd gotten barely any  
sleep the previous night. She doubted Touji had, either. Neither of  
them was going to be awake enough to be coherent much longer, so there  
was little point in talking now. There would be time enough in the  
morning.  
  
It took her a few moments to find Uoya, and a few more to  
confirm with the squad leader that nothing of any real interest had  
occurred while she was down in the crater. After she dismissed him  
with another yawn, she quickly sought out her tent. As she settled down  
to her bedroll, she realized that it had slipped her mind to radio back  
home with any of the day's events.  
  
"Oh well," Asuka said softly as she rolled over on to her side,  
for a moment irrationally irritated at the lack of a certain warm  
presence beside her. "He gets to be as surprised as me." A slightly  
mischievous smirk on her face, she fell into the blissful darkness of  
sleep.  
  
And she dreamed.  
  
It was a nightmare, but not the one she might have expected.  
The monstrous visage of Unit-01 did not disturb her sleep. Instead, it  
was a very familiar nightmare that came to her, one she had not had in  
quite some time. The familiarity did not help, though, for it was by  
far one of the most terrifying dreams she had ever experienced, even  
after so many repetitions. In large part, this was because she knew  
that this vision was true.  
  
The familiar, womb-like enclosure of Evangelion Unit-02's entry  
plug surrounded her, filling her with its warmth, its unthinking mind in  
synch with hers. It had been so long since she had felt it like this,  
both in the dream and in the waking world. Yet no true comfort came to  
her, for she knew what was about to happen. Above her, she could feel  
the hunters circling, hear their vulture-like cries. She screamed,  
feeling the first strike even before it hit, ripping through her  
protective, invulnerable AT Field like so much tissue paper.  
  
Pain filled her world; not just hers, but the pain of the other  
presence - her weapon, her steed, her protector. The twin agonies  
intermingled, feeding on each other as the lance ripped her apart from  
the inside. The next blows were almost unfelt, as her anguish was  
already incalculable. Yet the strikes kept coming, and long after she  
might have thought she would slip into blissful unconsciousness, the  
pain continued. She screamed her throat raw, reaching up in futile rage  
at her tormentors. As one, they descended in answer, ripping and  
tearing and clawing and biting and stretching and...  
  
Darkness. It was here the dream should have ended, here that  
she should have awoken, sweating in her bedroll, ready to reach for  
comfort that was not there. This dream was a familiar companion to her,  
its every exquisite horror known perfectly to her. This was the end, as  
it always was.  
  
Yet, this time the dream did not end. Inside the dream, she  
slept a dreamless, timeless sleep - though sleep was not the word. It  
was indescribable. There was no thought, no emotion. No pain, no joy.  
No anger, no kindness. No fear, no courage. No self. There was  
only... existence. It could not be called bliss, for there was no such  
sensation, nor anything or anyone to experience it. Yet, it could, for  
lack of a better term, be called peace.  
  
Then something shifted. Somehow, something disturbed the utter  
nullity, lifted her out of the void. An alien presence, almost human  
but... twisted, somehow. It was wrong, and that was the only word that  
could describe it. And Asuka screamed from a throat she no longer had-  
  
And she woke up.  
  
She could see the light of the morning sun through the walls of  
her tent, and hear the camp stirring around her. It was already  
morning, yet it felt like she had been sleeping for only moments. She  
lay still a moment, allowing the fragments of the dream to fade away,  
before she rose and began to dress for the day.  
  
A few minutes later, she was out of the tent and hurriedly  
eating a quick breakfast while helping Uoya and Touji organize the  
breaking of the camp. The most pressing issue was how to fit the  
additional people and supplies of Touji's squad into the cars that  
Uoya's had used on the way here, but after dumping some replaceable  
supplies that mission was accomplished. All in all it took over an hour  
and a half for everyone to be ready to leave.  
  
Asuka quickly claimed the driver's seat in one small car. Touji  
slid into the other front seat, saying simply, "We three still need to  
talk."  
  
She was about to ask which three, when she saw Rei seating  
herself in back, though she had to shift several packages to make space  
to sit. She resisted the urge to grimace, instead replying, "All  
right."  
  
A few moments later, they were moving, and the other vehicles  
followed close behind. As they got underway, Touji suddenly smirked.  
"Hey, Ayanami, ever ride in a car with Major Katsuragi driving?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good, then you're prepared."  
  
Asuka snorted. "My driving is not that bad, stooge." An  
instant later, she swerved wildly to avoid a deep dip in the ground.  
  
Touji laughed. "You were saying?" As he finished speaking, the  
car hit a bump, and his skull was introduced rather painfully to the  
car's ceiling. "Ow," he muttered, rubbing his head. "All right, you  
have your revenge, you crazy Kraut."  
  
Asuka snickered, but her amusement soon faded as she caught a  
glimpse of Rei disinterestedly staring out the window in the rear view  
mirror. Her hands tightened momentarily on the steering wheel, but she  
forced herself to relax.  
  
For a few more minutes, the drive continued in silence, until  
she turned onto a cracked, weather-beaten road. "All right, Suzuhara.  
You said we needed to talk." Yet Touji did not respond, choosing  
instead to stare with distant eyes at the long road ahead, obviously  
lost in thought. After a few minutes of this, Asuka spoke again. "Wake  
up, Suzuhara."  
  
Touji shook his head as though to clear it. "What? I'm not  
asleep."  
  
"Maybe not, but you were doing a fair Wondergirl impression."  
Asuka winced, remembering that - even as quiet as she was - the girl in  
question was seated behind her. "Sorry, Ayanami." Even in her own  
ears, the apology seemed weak.  
  
"Why? I was not offended."  
  
Asuka rolled her eyes, but managed to stop herself from making  
any of the derogatory comments that quickly came to mind. "Never mind,  
then."  
  
"Very well," Rei replied before returning to staring out her  
window.  
  
For a few moments silence returned, but then Touji finally  
spoke. "Is it safe to leave the Eva like that?"  
  
Asuka grimaced. "It ought to be. I mean, what's anyone else  
going to do with the damned thing?" She paused for a moment. "I still  
have a bad feeling about it, though."  
  
"Tell me about it," Touji said, "though I can't say that's  
anything new. I've had a bad feeling about it from the moment I first  
heard about it."  
  
"Why?" The two adults both started at Ayanami's sudden  
interjection.  
  
A dark expression fell on Touji's face, and for a long moment he  
did not speak. Eventually though, he answered. "It... hurt someone."  
  
Rei blinked. "Your sister?" she asked, quickly making the  
connection.  
  
Touji relaxed somewhat, though Asuka could see that his fists  
were still clenched tightly in his lap. "Yes. My sister." Asuka shot  
him a sympathetic glance, but he did not seem to notice. For a long  
moment, there was an awkward silence, punctuated only by the rumbling of  
the car's engine.  
  
This silence was broken by the sudden, answering rumble of  
Touji's stomach. "Man, I'm starved," he said in mock distress, as  
though the previous conversation had not happened. "Have we got  
anything to eat?"  
  
Asuka grunted. "Probably. There are enough bags back there.  
See if," she began, pausing only slightly before continuing, "Ayanami  
will look."  
  
"Will ya?" Touji asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Asuka tuned out the ensuing search and early lunch, instead  
focusing on the road. She'd be damned if she'd give the stooge another  
excuse to insult her driving. Much to her relief, she succeeded in  
avoiding just that for the hour and a half until the caravan stopped  
briefly for a somewhat later lunch - not that his previous meal kept  
Touji from participating in this one as well.  
  
After this brief stop, the caravan continued on its way. Touji  
offered to take over driving their vehicle, and after a few moment's  
thought Asuka accepted, delaying their departure by a handful of seconds  
as the two switched seats. With that out of the way, they began the  
second and final leg of the trip, though this time they were stuck  
closer to the end of the caravan than its beginning.  
  
To Asuka's mild disappointment, the remainder of the trip was  
smooth, providing her with no opportunity to needle Touji on his own  
driving skills. Perhaps she could remind him just who had wrecked a car  
the first time he'd tried to drive one. Asuka smirked at the thought,  
but ultimately decided not to bring it up just then. She'd save it for  
the next time he complained about her driving.  
  
After a couple of hours more, the caravan began to pass a few  
small, crude farms and clusters of improvised buildings - the outskirts,  
such as they were, of Tokyo-4. A few people working in the fields waved  
at the caravan as it passed by them, but most hardly looked up from  
their labors. A handful of minutes later, their destination was in  
sight. "Ah, home, sweet home," Touji said, smiling slightly as he began  
to slow down.  
  
Tokyo-4 was by no means the impressive sight its predecessors  
had been. In fact, even the battered shell of Tokyo-3 looming ever-  
present on the northern horizon outshone the small settlement. Tokyo-4  
had been built for the most part out of rubble and by unskilled hands,  
and it showed. It was laid out to no guiding plan, shelters having been  
built wherever a sturdy ruin made the task easier. The largest  
'building' was nothing more than the uncollapsed lower levels of a  
ruined parking garage, and it served as a combination town hall and  
warehouse.  
  
It was to this building that Asuka and Touji headed as soon as  
they could, leaving Uoya to supervise the unloading of the caravan. Rei  
followed quietly behind the two, glancing about with as much curiosity  
as she ever showed. As they neared the center of the settlement, Asuka  
was forced to stop briefly several times to return greetings, and once  
to break up a minor altercation between two people over whose fault it  
was that the new shelter they'd constructed had collapsed while they  
were away catching a late lunch.  
  
Despite this, it took less than ten minutes for them to reach  
the "town square" that lay in front of the entrance to the parking  
garage. In the center of this square lay the Calendar Stone - not  
Shinji's original, as that was too far from town to be convenient. It  
was now almost covered with markings, and before too long another stone  
would have to be placed beside it.  
  
Asuka for the most part ignored the crowd that didn't even come  
close to filling the square as she headed for the town hall's entrance.  
Once inside, she breathed a sigh of relief at being out of the sun. She  
knew that global temperatures had skyrocketed after Second Impact, and  
they showed every sign of having increased again after Third Impact - at  
least in this small corner of the world. She would quite happily kill  
for some working air conditioning, but that was far beyond the meager  
resources available.  
  
Once her eyes had adjusted to the much darker interior of the  
old parking garage, she headed off into the maze of small 'rooms' that  
the vast ground floor had been partitioned into, gesturing curtly for  
Touji and Rei to follow. She had not made much progress when she was  
interrupted by an all-too-familiar voice.  
  
"Soryuu-san."  
  
Asuka turned to face the slim, short man, smiling politely.  
"Yes, Arakawa-san?"  
  
The man hefted a small sheath of papers he was carrying.  
"During your absence - I trust your expedition went well, and yours as  
well, Suzuhara-san," he said with a nod to the other man, but he  
continued without waiting for a response, "a few issues requiring your  
attention came up. If you would see to them at your earliest  
convenience-"  
  
"Is anything urgent?" Asuka interrupted.  
  
Arakawa paused and blinked, clearly considering this. "I do not  
believe any are terribly so."  
  
"Good," Asuka said. "I'll take care of it later this afternoon,  
then. Do you know where Shinji is?"  
  
The man nodded. "I believe he is in his office." He paused  
again, his cold blue-gray eyes turning to Rei. "I do not believe I have  
met you, young lady. I am Arakawa Okura. You are?"  
  
"Ayanami Rei."  
  
At this response he blinked several times in rapid succession.  
"Ayanami Rei? The First Child... fascinating," he muttered, half to  
himself. He returned to an ordinary speaking tone as he continued, "It  
is a pleasure to meet you."  
  
Rei simply nodded in response.  
  
After a moment, he returned the nod. "I must be going. I will  
prepare the reports for you, Soryuu-san."  
  
Asuka sighed slightly as he left. She had never really liked  
Arakawa, but she could see why Shinji kept him around. For all that he  
could get on her nerves at times, he was excellent at keeping everything  
organized - and even for a town as small as Tokyo-4, that was a  
difficult task. Though she supposed the task did not seem so daunting  
to the man - though he was far from talkative about his past, she had  
heard enough from both him and others to gather that he had held a  
similar position in Tokyo-3's government. Shaking herself from her  
brief reverie, she once again gestured for the other two to follow her.  
"Let's go."  
  
A few brief greetings and conversations interrupted their  
progress, but they ultimately reached their destination without too much  
delay. Once there, Asuka immediately skipped past the short line of  
people waiting for meetings - both scheduled and unscheduled - and  
entered the office unannounced, gesturing at Touji and Rei to wait a  
moment.  
  
As she pushed aside the tarp that covered the entrance, Shinji  
barely glanced up from the papers that were scattered over the battered  
table that served as his desk. "Just a few more minutes, plea-" he  
began, only to stop as he noticed who it was. "Asuka!" he said as he  
almost leapt from his seat, stepping around the desk.  
  
Asuka smiled back at him as she slid into a brief hug. she  
raised a hand to his cheek, feeling the stubble there. "Do you ever  
shave when I'm not around?"  
  
"Not really," Shinji replied with a slight smile. "I know you  
don't like them, but I always wondered what I'd look like with a beard."  
  
"Find a picture of your father then," Asuka replied. She  
immediately regretted the comment as she felt Shinji stiffen slightly,  
as he always did at the mention of his father. It didn't make the  
statement less true though - they might not have ever been mistaken for  
each other, but in the right light and with an imagined beard it was  
hard not to see the close resemblance between Shinji and his father.  
  
A half-second too late for it to seem entirely natural, Shinji  
smiled. "Trust me. I have no need for a picture." Shinji rubbed his  
own cheek. "Besides, I don't look that much like him."  
  
Asuka smiled back at him, but her expression swiftly turned more  
serious. Shinji, noticing this as he released her from his hug, frowned  
slightly. "What is it? Did something happen?"  
  
It too her a few moments to find words, and she covered the  
hesitation by seating herself on Shinji's desk. "Two things," she said.  
"We found the landing site."  
  
"And?" Shinji asked as she hesitated again.  
  
"It wasn't a meteorite." She paused again, though much more  
briefly. "It was Eva 01."  
  
Shinji blinked, briefly looking like he had been hit in the gut.  
After a moment he straightened, rubbing his forehead as though to ward  
off an oncoming headache. "Okay. How did it... no, you wouldn't know."  
  
Asuka shook her head. "If anyone would know, it's you."  
  
"And I don't have the slightest clue." Shinji paused. "All  
right. I don't like this. Let's quietly get the scouts to stick a bit  
closer to home. I've got a feeling something's going to happen soon."  
  
Asuka nodded. "So do I. Those dreams we had the night the Eva  
landed, and then yesterday-"  
  
"You felt something yesterday afternoon?" Shinji interrupted,  
and Asuka nodded. "I figured as much."  
  
"So did Suzuhara and..." Asuka allowed herself to trail off,  
rather than broach that particular subject just now.  
  
Shinji smiled weakly. "So, you ran into Touji then? Why did  
his squad stop reporting?"  
  
"The radio broke."  
  
"That's the third one so far this year." Shinji sighed. "Who  
was the other person?" he asked suddenly.  
  
Asuka hesitated, then spoke loud enough to be heard outside.  
"Suzuhara! Come on in. And bring her, too."  
  
"Her?" Shinji asked, puzzled, but his puzzlement quickly turned  
to shock and disbelief as the other two slipped inside. "Rei?" he asked  
in a strangled voice.  
  
"Yes." Rei's quiet response sent shivers down Asuka's spine,  
despite her efforts to suppress them. "You are Ikari-k... Pilot Ikari."  
  
Shinji simply nodded, unable to find words for the moment.  
Asuka reached to grasp his hand, but he seemed to take no notice of her  
attempt at comfort. His hand felt cold and clammy to her touch, and she  
could feel small tremors as he shook slightly. After a few moments, he  
joined Asuka on his desk, almost collapsing onto it.  
  
Touji stepped forward. "Are you okay, Ikari?"  
  
For a moment, Shinji seemed to not notice, but then he shook his  
head violently, as though to clear it. "I'm fine," he said, but his  
voice was more than a little shaky. Asuka tightened her grip on his  
hand, and he continued, his voice smoother. "It's good to see you  
again, Ayanami." He smiled slightly. "Welcome to Tokyo-4."  
  
Rei nodded. Asuka found something disturbing in the way her  
almost unblinking eyes looked at Shinji. For a moment, she could have  
sworn she saw a flash of... something in them. She couldn't say what -  
Ayanami was always hard to read - but she didn't like it. She shook her  
head. She had to be just imagining things. It was only Rei, after all.  
  
She realized that while she had been thinking, Shinji had risen,  
and she hastily joined him. He stepped forward towards Rei. "You're  
going to have to have a medical examination - it's standard procedure  
for new returns. If you'd wait outside for a moment, I'll lead you to  
the infirmary."  
  
Rei nodded, and turned to leave. The moment after she exited  
the office, Shinji spoke quietly, but firmly. "All right. Talk." His  
eyes turned hard as he looked at Touji and Asuka.  
  
"I found her a couple of days ago, south of the city," Touji  
said. "I think we found her pretty quickly after she returned, she  
seemed pretty confused."  
  
"How much does she remember?" Shinji asked.  
  
"Nothing." Touji shook his head. "She says the last thing she  
remembers before waking up is the Sixteenth Angel. We won't be getting  
any answers from her."  
  
"That's probably good for her." Shinji sighed, then continued.  
"You said Ayanami felt the same thing you did yesterday afternoon,  
Asuka?"  
  
Asuka nodded. "That's what Suzuhara said." She glanced towards  
him, seeking confirmation.  
  
Touji nodded curtly. "And I think she had the same dream I had  
the night before that. You two had one too?"  
  
"Yes," Asuka said.  
  
"All the pilots," Shinji said. "I don't like this at all." For  
a moment, there was silence, but then Shinji continued. "I shouldn't  
keep Ayanami waiting. I'll see you later, Asuka."  
  
She nodded as he left, then sighed. "It's going to be had to  
concentrate on those reports of Arakawa's after that conversation."  
  
Touji chuckled. "You could always play hooky."  
  
Asuka snorted. "Arakawa'd never say anything if I didn't show,  
but," she said with a sigh, "I really should see those reports."  
  
Touji nodded. "All right then. Say, do you know where  
Katsuragi-san is? I suppose I should say hello."  
  
Asuka shrugged. "Not a clue. Arakawa'll probably know, though.  
He seems to keep track of everyone and everything."  
  
Of course, when Touji did ask him, after following Asuka to his  
office, he merely blinked and said that he didn't know. Touji wandered  
off after Arakawa's answer, though whether to search for Misato or  
return to his squad Asuka didn't know. She then settled in to go over  
the reports.  
  
Arakawa had been right: none of the reports were very urgent.  
The bulk of them were made up by an inventory of the current food  
supplies, of which there was presently a rather large surplus. The  
expertise that that farmer who had returned the previous year had  
brought with him seemed to be having a rather beneficial effect.  
  
In any case, most of the reports required little or no action or  
thought, and so it was only a hair more than an hour later that Asuka  
said her goodbyes to Arakawa and stepped out of the town hall, blinking  
as her eyes adjusted to the still-bright sunlight. She then headed  
towards the infirmary, hoping to perhaps meet up with Shinji. Along the  
way, she ran into Touji, who was headed back towards the town hall.  
  
"Hi, stooge," Asuka said, smiling. "Did you ever find Misato?"  
  
Touji shook his head. "I just went to check up on my squad.  
You already done with that paperwork?"  
  
Before Asuka could respond, a familiar voice intruded. "Did  
someone say my name?"  
  
Touji turned to face the speaker, and Asuka snickered as his  
mouth dropped open in surprise. Misato groaned. "Honestly, Asuka, why  
do you find this so amusing?"  
  
Asuka merely snickered again turning to Touji. "Not quite how  
you remember her, is she?"  
  
Touji blinked a couple of times. "Ya look like ya lost ten  
years, Major."  
  
Misato pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ears.  
"Pretty much. This is more or less what I looked like when I was in  
college. And just Misato, please."  
  
Touji glanced upward, obviously performing a few quick  
calculations in his head. "Hey, that means that you're the same age as  
us!" Asuka let out another snicker.  
  
Misato snorted. "I'll have you know, Asuka, that when you turn  
30, you'll kill to have a chance to be 20 again."  
  
Asuka laughed softly. "Point."  
  
Misato flashed a victory sign before becoming serious. "Shinji  
said to tell you to drop by the infirmary if you could. He wanted to  
talk about Rei."  
  
"You know she's returned, then?" Touji asked, and Misato nodded  
in reply.  
  
"I saw her when Shinji brought her to see Maya." She paused.  
"At least she hasn't gone out and grown up while my back was turned."  
  
"So, what are you doing, anyways?" Touji asked her. "Interested  
in joining the scouts?"  
  
"Nah," Misato said with a smile. "I'm going to start Tokyo-4's  
first brewery! Can't have a city without beer."  
  
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised? Anyways-"  
Asuka stopped in mid-sentence, the words suddenly driven from her head  
by a terrible... what, exactly? She couldn't describe it, any more than  
she could describe the strange incident the previous afternoon. A  
tremor settled into her gut, and she glanced up to see Touji clutching  
his head, as though in pain. A few moments later, the sensation passed.  
  
"What's wrong?" Misato asked.  
  
Asuka ignored her for the moment, instead saying to Touji, "We  
need to see Shinji."  
  
He nodded in reply, and the two broke off into a run, Misato  
hurrying after them.  
  
When they reached the infirmary, Maya was out in front,  
examining a patient's arm for broken bones. "Where's Shinji?" Asuka  
barked out as she neared.  
  
"In back," Maya said.  
  
Asuka nodded in thanks, and headed into the back of the wooden  
building, the other two soon following her. It took a moment for her  
eyes to readjust to the dimmer interior, and then she threaded her way  
through the cluttered main room to the shower curtain that partitioned  
off the rear. She pushed the curtain aside, then stopped.  
  
Her eyes twitched. Twice. Shinji was on the ground. He was  
lying on the floor, and Rei was sprawled on top of him. A very naked  
Rei. Asuka's fists clenched, her nails biting into her palms. Shinji  
pushed the girl off of him and began to rise, already stuttering out  
what might have been the beginning of an explanation.  
  
Asuka took a deep breath, and spoke. "You have exactly five  
seconds to stop stammering and tell me exactly what was going on here."  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Author's Random Ramblings  
  
1) And now the plot starts! It's rather scary thinking that I'm just  
now approximately at the end of the first chapter of my original outline  
for this fic.  
  
2) This chapter took far, far too long, and I don't really have any real  
excuse. My apologies to any who were eagerly awaiting it.  
  
3) As ever, my thanks go to my valiant prereaders - Ryan Hupp, who I  
send segments of the fic literally as I write them, and who thus suffers  
through my wholly unedited prose, and Angus MacSpon, who takes on the no  
lesser task of turning the result into a coherent, readable whole.  
  
4) C&C of all kinds is, of course, welcomed.  
  
5) At this point I think I can call my experiment with writing seamless,  
one POV chapters a provisional success. I don't think I'll do it for  
every fic - it's certainly easier (for me at least) to write with scene  
deliminators and randomly switching POVs - but it seems to work well  
with the more character-intensive and less action-heavy style of this  
fic.  
  
6) Notes unrelated to this fic: I have a number of other projects  
cooking along. I'm strongly considering a rewrite of at least the  
earlier chapters of Shades of Gray, in preparation for its sequel. That  
sequel, Shades of Darkness, is in the late outlining stages. I also  
have a rather odd Eva fic in the works with a nearly finished prologue,  
an almost as odd Sailor Moon fic in early outlining stages, a potential  
rewrite of Lonely Hearts (my old Ranma/Eva crossover), and a fully  
outlined Saturn-focused Sailor Moon oneshot I've been meaning to write  
for the longest time, and a few more ideas still brewing.  
  
Some, none, or all of these projects may eventually show up on a website  
near you.  
  
Started: June 11, 2003  
Draft Completed: July 19, 2003  
Draft Released: August 04, 2003  
Final Completed: August 16, 2003 


	5. Chapter 4: Tremor

Fallen  
A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic  
By: Aaron Nowack  
  
Chapter 4: Tremor  
  
***********************************************************************  
Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is not mine, but instead belongs to  
Gainax and Hideako Anno. The text of this fanfic is mine, however, and  
may not be used without permission. I took Nature's most perfect  
killing machine... and needlessly turned it into a robot!  
***********************************************************************  
  
Ayanami Rei was, for lack of a better term, somewhat distraught.  
Her mind was scattered, and she found herself unable to maintain a  
coherent line of thought: a most unusual situation for her and not one  
she enjoyed. She could feel a dull ache she couldn't quite place,  
almost as if she had sprained some muscle she hadn't known existed.  
Another - or perhaps the same - subdued pain throbbed in the back of her  
head, in time to her rapidly beating heart. She felt overwarm, almost  
feverish. Perhaps most importantly, she could not recall how it was she  
had ended up in this state: naked, on the floor of the back room of what  
she had been told was Tokyo-4's infirmary.  
  
"You have exactly five seconds to stop stammering and tell me  
exactly what was going on here." Pilot Soryuu - even in her distracted  
state Rei could recognize that voice.  
  
The other, stuttering voice that she had not noticed stopped for  
a moment, then started again, far calmer. "You aren't going to believe  
me."  
  
"Try me, Ikari Shinji."  
  
Rei willed herself to be calm, and succeeded to some extent. Her  
heart slowed its wild galloping, and even her various pains seemed  
lessened. Rolling over to face the doorway, she listened with interest  
as Shinji began to speak.  
  
"I... was just keeping Ayanami company while Ibuki-san was  
taking care of another patient. We were talking - well, I was talking  
anyway - about Tokyo-4 and what she could expect."  
  
Rei nodded to herself, gathering her thoughts. That seemed to  
match her hazy recollections of what had happened before... something.  
  
"While she was naked?" Asuka asked, a biting, angry tone in her  
voice.  
  
"N-no! Of course not!" Shinji took a deep breath. "She was  
wearing one of those hospital gowns."  
  
"Um... Ikari, no offense, but then where is it? I sure don't  
see one." Suzuhara. Why hadn't she noticed him already? She must be  
in even worse shape than she had thought.  
  
"Don't look at her, you pervert!" Rei thought to state that she  
didn't mind, but decided against it. It would merely antagonize the  
other woman even more. She never could understand why most people had  
such a fixation on nudity, though.  
  
"I wasn't!"  
  
Asuka dismissed the man's protest with a disbelieving grunt. For  
a moment there was silence, then Shinji spoke. "I think we should take  
this outside." He stepped towards the 'door' - more accurately an old  
shower curtain that hung across where the door had once been - and  
pushed the curtain aside. The other two began to file out, and Rei rose  
to follow.  
  
Shinji turned to her. "Could you please stay here, Ayanami?  
I'll have Ibuki-san get you another gown."  
  
It was phrased as a polite question, but there was something in  
his voice that left no illusions that it was anything but a command. Rei  
responded almost without thinking. "Yes, sir."  
  
Shinji nodded, and left, pulling the curtain closed behind him,  
leaving Rei alone. For a moment, Rei stood there, her mind almost  
blank. Then, shaking herself, she stepped closer to the door. He  
hadn't said she couldn't try and listen to the conversation.  
Fortunately, though the shower curtain was sufficient to provide some  
privacy, it did not block much, or any, sound.  
  
"- and that's when it happened." Ikari-k... Pilot Ikari.  
  
"When what happened?" Asuka was making no effort to hide her  
growing irritation.  
  
"I take it you came to find me when you felt something?" was his  
response.  
  
"Yes," Touji said.  
  
"I think we all felt the same thing."  
  
"That still doesn't explain anything, Shinji." Irritation was  
no longer a good word to describe what Rei could hear in Asuka's voice.  
  
"Can somebody explain to me what you three are fighting about? I  
was just talking to Maya, and then I hear you practically yelling at  
each other." Rei couldn't quite place the voice, though it seemed  
familiar.  
  
Touji chuckled. "I'll let you know when I figure that out,  
Katsuragi-san."  
  
"Please, just Misato."  
  
Asuka coughed. "I would very much like to hear the rest of this  
story."  
  
Shinji let ou a sigh. "There's not much more to it. That...  
feeling hit, so I wasn't paying much attention. All of sudden, I feel -  
see? - a... glow is the best word, but it doesn't work." For a moment  
Shinji paused, then let out a curse. "I could have sworn I knew what it  
was, but now that I think of it, I can't really remember what it felt  
like."  
  
"And?" Asuka prompted.  
  
"I feel something hit me, and the next thing I know I'm on the  
ground and you've busted in on me."  
  
"That has to be the most insane thing I've ever -"  
  
"Asuka!" To Rei's surprise, it was Touji who interrupted her.  
Even more surprisingly, Asuka paused and took a deep breath.  
  
"I guess the stooge is right. Even you could come up with a  
better lie than that. God knows enough strange things have been  
happening, and Wondergirl's been at the center of most of them."  
  
"That reminds me of something I forgot to tell you earlier,"  
Touji said. "Another weird thing that happened with Rei. You see, we  
ran into some wild dogs -"  
  
Shinji interrupted him. "Let's take this somewhere a little  
more comfortable. And I need to tell Ibuki-san that Rei needs some more  
clothes."  
  
After that, all Rei could hear was footsteps, and soon not even  
that. She slowly backed away from the 'door', her mind rebelliously  
returning to the incident Touji had mentioned, an incident she had long  
since simply decided was unexplainable. She sat down on the small cot  
in one corner of the room.  
  
She had been afraid. There were many who would not believe it  
of her, that she could or would experience true fear. Yet she could  
still remember the terrible fear she had felt each time she had merged  
her mind with her Evangelion, the mindless, raging, unthinking machine  
of destruction. Even at the best of times it was a struggle to keep  
the beast under her command, and there was always the fear that once  
again it would shake off its chains. That, once again, it would be the  
one commanding, not her. It had been an endless surprise to her that  
her two fellow pilots, with what she had always felt were weaker wills,  
had not been consumed by that fear. Compared to that fear, facing the  
Angels had been almost a blessing. Compared to that fear, there should  
be nothing that could shake her in the slightest.  
  
Yet somehow, when she had faced the dogs, she had been afraid.  
It was laughable, almost. A mere animal, shaking her? But it could not  
be denied. The stomach-turning feeling could not be mistaken for  
anything else. When the animal had leapt at her, she had known she was  
about to die, and had known fear once again. And then... what?  
  
A tremor ran through her, then another. She could not recall.  
She could remember falling under the dog's weight, remember pushing the  
dog's corpse off herself and assuring the others she was not hurt. What  
happened in between was a blank state, just likle what had happened  
before she found herself on the ground mere minutes ago. Just as she  
could not remember what she had done - for Suzuhara had assured her that  
she had survived - between her attempted self-destruct and awakening in  
the sea of LCL.  
  
She began to curl into an almost fetal position, her head  
between her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs, but the tremors did  
not stop. She was losing control of herself, and that control was all  
she had ever had. Anything else could be lost, and she would care no  
more than she did when her hair was cut. But without control, she was  
nothing. That had been one of the first lessons taught to her, one of  
her first memories. Without control, she could not pilot Eva, and  
without her bond to Eva she was nothing.  
  
She curled even further into herself, a feat she had thought  
impossible, all attempt to cease her shaking abandoned. There was no  
Eva for her to pilot, nor Angels to fight. She had breathed in the  
stink of Eva-01's fiery death, but only now did she feel sick. Without  
Eva, she was nothing. Nothing but a girl, cast out of her time and  
place, into this world of strangers with familiar names. She, who had  
always known her purpose and duty, now had no purpose, no use.  
  
She desperately wanted - needed - to talk to Commander Ikari. He  
could tell her what to do, give her the focus she so badly needed. He  
was the only person she had ever known had truly understood her, even  
more than she understood herself. He was gone, though, like everything  
she had known.  
  
Warm wetness trickled down her cheeks, splashed against her  
arms. Tears. For the second time in her life, she was crying. She had  
read somewhere, once, that crying was supposed to be cathartic. Yet she  
felt no relief, no clearing of her mind. Indeed, the tears seemed to  
merely redouble the emotions storming in her mind.  
  
"Ayanami? We don't actually have any more clean gowns, but one  
of the girls left some clothes I think should - Rei?!" The last was  
worried, and Rei heard the sound of something falling. A few moments  
later, a hand placed itself on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"  
  
Through some supreme effort of will, Rei stopped the flow of  
tears and uncurled slightly, raising her face to see who spoke to her.  
It took a moment for her blurry, burning eyes to recognize who was  
speaking to her. "Lieutenant Ibuki," she said, straightening somewhat.  
  
The woman smiled slightly. "We aren't at NERV anymore, Ayanami.  
You can call me Ibuki-san, or Maya, or whatever would make you feel  
comfortable." She paused. "And there's need to feel embarrassed. It's  
perfectly normal to have a reaction like that to coming back. Almost  
everyone has a breakdown at some point."  
  
Rei simply nodded.  
  
A frown passed over Maya's face, gone so quickly that Rei was  
not sure that she had really seen it. "I understand that... something  
strange happened while Ikari-san was back here with you." She paused  
again, as though she were searching for the right words. "Is there  
anything you'd like to talk to me about? I promise I won't tell anyone  
else, if you don't want me to, but sometimes it an help to just talk  
about things."  
  
"No, Lieutenant."  
  
This time Rei was sure that she saw a brief frown on Maya's  
face. "All right. We still need to do the quick check-up, though."  
  
The check-up proved to be fairly short and cursory, compared to  
the medical examinations Rei was used to from NERV. Maya measured and  
noted her weight and height, checked her pulse, and asked her whether  
she had experienced anything unusual since returning that she felt she  
should know about.  
  
Rei answered negatively to that, and she could tell the woman  
wanted to press her, but Maya seemed to decide against it. "All right,  
then. The last thing is whether you have any preexisting medical  
conditions or were taking any medication."  
  
"I was taking some medication."  
  
Maya nodded. "I believe I remember that. Do you recall exactly  
what you were taking?"  
  
Rei shook her head. "It varied, and Dr. Akagi did not always  
tell me how." She paused, thinking of something else. "As well, I am  
told I do not recall several months prior to Third Impact, so any  
information I have would be out of date."  
  
Maya rubbed her eyes. "All right. Well, most people wind up  
not actually needing the medication, but let me know if you start to  
feel symptoms of anything."  
  
Rei hesitated, then spoke. "I do not know..." She really did  
not want to talk of this, but it was possible it was important. "I  
have, twice now, experienced... memory loss."  
  
A worried look appeared on Maya's face. "When?"  
  
"Once, before I arrived in Tokyo-4, when Suzuhara-san's squad  
was attacked by wild dogs. The second time... just now, here." Rei  
continued, describing what she knew of both incidents.  
  
"No wonder you were so upset," Maya said after a moment. "Don't  
worry about it for now. I'm going to see what Suzuhara-san and Ikari-  
san can tell me." She rose from where she had been sitting, and walked  
over near the doorway, stooping over to pick something up. "It's a  
little wrinkled now, but it'll still work."  
  
When Maya turned back to Rei, she was able to see that the item  
was a simple, pale blue dress. "I think this should be about the right  
size for you." She handed the dress to Rei. "Come back outside when  
you've gotten dressed."  
  
Rei found that Maya had been correct - though not anywhere close  
to a perfect fit, the dress fit better than the now-filthy clothing she  
had borrowed from Yamada-san in Suzuhara's squad. She soon joined Maya  
in the infirmary's outer chamber. The older woman smiled as she  
entered. "It looks like the others have probably headed back to the  
town hall. We should probably go find them and see what they want to do  
with you."  
  
Rei had no objections to this, and said so. However, before they  
could leave, another person burst into the infirmary. Rei tensed  
briefly before realizing that the intruder was just a young girl -  
twelve years old, at most - who was doing nothing more threatening than  
panting for breath.  
  
"Erika wants to know if she left her blue dre-" The girl cut off  
suddenly, seeming to just notice Rei. "Are you the new return?"  
  
Rei nodded curtly.  
  
The girl smiled broadly, bowing slightly. "I'm Rachael. What's  
your name?"  
  
"Ayanami Rei."  
  
"Nice to meet you."  
  
Rei nodded again in reply, as Maya stepped forward, ruffling  
Rachael's short, almost boyish blond hair. "Go tell Erika that she did  
leave her dress here, but that Rei needed to borrow it, all right?"  
  
The girl nodded. "Okay, Mom." Rei blinked at that as Rachael  
ran out of the room, almost as quickly as she had entered it.  
  
"Your daughter?" Rei asked after a moment.  
  
Maya nodded, smiling. "Adopted." She paused her smile slipping  
for an instant. "I knew her father from... before." After a moment,  
Maya shook her head. "Anyway, we should be going."  
  
And with that, they left the infirmary, Maya carefully turning  
over a battered "Will Be Back Soon" sign by the main entrance. They did  
not make it far, though, before running into the others. Shinji, Asuka,  
and Touji were conversing quietly, while some distance away another  
woman, who Rei did not a first recognize, was leaning onto a fragment of  
what had once been a concrete wall, glaring irritably at the other  
three.  
  
She glanced at Maya and Rei. "Don't bother going over there.  
They're having a... private conversation." The voice was easily placed,  
and Rei rexamined the woman, now recognizing her from her brief  
encounter on the way to the infirmary. She had forgotten that Major  
Katsuragi now looked much younger than she had before, a quite odd fact.  
Rei filed this away for future consideration as Shinji murmured  
something to Asuka and Touji, and the three walked over to the others.  
  
"Hello, Ayanami," Shinji said quietly, and Rei nodded back in  
reply.  
  
"Ya feeling all right?" Touji asked.  
  
After a moment, Rei said, "Yes."  
  
"That's good," the man replied. "So, what now?" The last was  
addressed to Shinji and Asuka.  
  
Asuka sighed. "I don't know."  
  
"First things first," Shinji said. "We need to find Ayanami a  
place to stay. I don't think it would be a good idea for her to stay in  
one of the dormitories."  
  
Touji scratched his head. "Nah." He eyed Rei for a moment. "But  
she can probably take care of herself. She lived alone before, didn't  
she?"  
  
Asuka shook her head. "Not a good plan, stooge."  
  
"She needs to stay with someone for a while at least," Shinji  
said.  
  
Misato shrugged. "I'd offer, but I'm still new here."  
  
Shinji nodded absently. Asuka glanced at him, then shook her  
head violently. "I know what you're thinking, and my answer is no."  
  
"I guess you're right. It would be awkward."  
  
"That's an understatement," Asuka muttered under her breath.  
"Besides," she said in a louder voice a moment later, "we don't exactly  
have anywhere to put her at our place."  
  
"I'll do it," Maya said.  
  
Asuka blinked. "Are you sure? You already have -"  
  
Maya smiled, waving her off. "If I can handle three, taking  
care of one more for a little while won't be a problem." She paused.  
"If that's all right with you, Rei?"  
  
"I have no objections," Rei said after a slight hesitation.  
  
And so, not much later Rei found herself sitting down for dinner  
at a table that was just a bit too small for five people. Across the  
table from her, Maya smiled. "I guess some introductions are in order.  
Girls, this is Ayanami Rei, who will be staying with us for now. Rei,  
you've already met Rachael."  
  
The blonde girl seated to Rei's left waved cheerfully at her. On  
Rei's other side an older girl, perhaps slightly older than Rei, looked  
up from fiddling with her long, brown ponytail. "I'm Erika. Pleased to  
meet you," she said, obviously not particularly interested. Rei nodded  
and glanced to the third girl, who was seated next to Maya. She seemed  
to be at most seven years old, and all that was visible of her was her  
short, black hair, as she had buried her face in her mother's side,  
occasionally taking quick peeks at Rei. "The shy one here is Nanami,"  
Maya said. "Say hello to Rei, Nanami."  
  
Nanami took another peek at Rei. "Hi," she said in a voice so  
quiet that Rei almost couldn't hear it.  
  
Maya smiled. "Well, let's eat."  
  
They did so, and Rei noted that meal consisted simply of some  
bread and fresh vegetables, though she wasn't sure whether the lack of  
meat was ordinary or a concession ot her own diet. She did not try  
particularly hard to follow the mealtime conversation, as it mainly  
concerned people and events of which she had not the slightest  
knowledge. The others seemed content to let her be, and Rei certainly  
had no problems with that. However, as the meal finished and the  
conversation died, Rei found Erika staring at her, as though she were  
thinking about something.  
  
A few moments later she spoke, noticing Rei returning her stare.  
"Sorry, Ayanami. I could swear I've heard your name somewhere before,  
but I can't remember where."  
  
Rei thought a moment, then replied. "I am the First Child."  
  
Erika snapped her fingers. "So that's why they took you to see  
Ikari-san." For a moment she was silent, then she spoke again. "So,  
what was it like being an Eva pilot? I asked Soryuu-san once and she  
just about ripped my head off, and Mom won't talk about NERV either."  
  
"I... would prefer not to talk about it."  
  
Erika sighed. "Oh, come on!"  
  
"Erika!" Maya said warningly.  
  
"All right," Erika said, rolling her eyes. "May I be excused?"  
She left the table almost before Maya could nod.  
  
Only a handful of minutes later, Rei was helping Rachael clear  
the table of dishes. Once all the dishes had been placed in a bucket of  
water to soak, Rei set out to explore the house. To her admittedly  
unpracticed eye, it seemed rather poorly constructed. At the very least  
she was certain it would leak in places if there was any heavy rain. It  
was also rather small - though of course it had more rooms, it didn't  
seem to be any more than twice as large as the one-room apartment she  
had lived in Tokyo-3.  
  
Her explorations turned up nothing unusual. Besides the main  
room in which she had eaten, there were three bedrooms. Her quick  
glances inside showed that the two younger girls shared one, while Maya  
and Erika each had their own. When she looked into the last, she saw  
the Maya was presently helping Erika set up a small futon to one side of  
the room. Maya glanced up at Rei. "If you're looking for the restroom,  
there's an outhouse around back."  
  
Rei shook her head, and Maya continued. "Then you can help us  
get this ready for you. You'll be sharing this room with Erika while  
you're here."  
  
That task was quickly accomplished, and it was not long after  
when Maya declared that it was time for everyone to go to bed. This  
announcement was followed by a seemingly ritualistic negotiation with  
the younger girls, which resulted in a five-minute delay. By that  
point, Rei was already in bed, exhausted.  
  
Yet, despite her exhaustion, she found it hard to sleep. Now  
that she once again had quiet and, if not solitude, only an unconscious  
companion - for Erika had quickly fallen asleep - all the strange  
feelings she had felt earlier in the day came rushing back to her. Her  
efforts to push them aside again proved futile, and she shivered under  
the thin blankets.  
  
She found herself almost dreading sleep, for she was sure it  
would be restless. And when she awoke, she would still be as she was  
now, lost in this sea of unfamiliar feelings. What was she to do here,  
in this Tokyo-4? Her life was Eva, but there was no Eva. It was not a  
situation she had ever thought possible. Eva had been there from  
earliest memories, and she had been certain it would outlive her. She  
tossed and turned, these thoughts preying on her mind, but eventually  
her exhausted body won out, and she slept.  
  
And then awoke. It was still night, and Rei wondered what had  
awoken her, but no answers presented themselves as she lay unmoving in  
bed. After a moment, she pushed the covers aside and stood. A strange  
detachment passed over her, almost as though she were nothing more than  
a passenger in her own body, as she walked over to the window. The  
wooden shutters were wide open, letting what passed for a night breeze  
into the room, but even in the light pajamas she had borrowed from Erika  
she did not feel cold.  
  
Before she realized it, she had quietly slipped out the window  
and stood in the deserted "street". Somehow, she could not bring  
herself to be worried over her strange actions. Instead she made her  
way down the road, passing the nearby infirmary. She almost felt like  
she could feel something calling to her, drawing her nearer. Something  
familiar, yet she could not place it.  
  
It was like she was in a trance, or some meditative state. She  
could not bring herself to feel even the slightest concern about what  
she was doing, or why she was doing it. It just seemed... correct, like  
she was answering a problem that had only one answer. It was almost to  
the point where she could not even comprehend the possibility that she  
might not do as she was doing. Each silent step brought her closer to  
her destination, to where she had to be.  
  
Tokyo-4 was peaceful this night, and for some time she was able  
to thread her way through the complicated, unfamiliar warren of  
buildings without seeing any sign of habitation more immediate than the  
rare candle in a window. The eerie quiet caused by the total lack of  
the machinery that supported modern life, which Rei had found so  
unnerving when she had first noticed it, now seemed somehow comforting.  
The waning moon was still bright enough for her to see by, though she  
seemed to recall that her night vision had not been quite this good  
before. Somehow, she couldn't worry about it just now, though.  
  
She found herself pausing as she reached the first structure  
that she found familiar, the ruined parking garage that served as Tokyo-  
4's town hall. Was this perhaps her destination? The call she felt  
seemed to lessen as she considered the building dispassionately. She  
took one half-step towards the entryway, then stopped. She waited a  
moment, as though she expected some sign.  
  
She received one, as the horizon before her suddenly glowed with  
some reflected, strange light. For an instant, darkness returned. Then,  
as the near perfect silence was rent by a cacophony of human sounds, the  
sky lit once more. This time, she could easily determine the source  
from the orange color and by the sudden scent of smoke on the night  
breeze. Fire.  
  
The detachment that had clouded her thoughts lifted, replaced by  
an equally strange, grim purpose. There was something that needed  
doing, and she was called to do it. She ran, and the sound of her bare  
feet hitting the dirt seemed the only thing that could be louder than  
the sound of her heart racing. The light in the distance grew brighter  
as she ran. A gunshot loudly echoed through the night air, then  
another.  
  
Quicker than she might have thought, she reached the edge of  
town. The fires were no longer merely an orange glow on the horizon;  
the infernos that had once been wooden watchtowers blazed furiously on  
either side. She stopped her run, searching herself to determine what  
it was she had come here to do. Behind her, Tokyo-4 woke, distant alarm  
bells ringing out an overdue warning. Before her, the city's defenders  
were fighting. And losing.  
  
Some of them she recognized. She could see Shinji and Asuka  
standing back, guns in hand, and she though she could make out Touji's  
squad as well. There were a half-dozen other fighters - she guessed  
this night's watch, or at least the survivors of it. She could see a  
number of still forms littering the ground nearby, though she could not  
say how many.  
  
Against all this stood a single opponent, the defenders keeping  
a healthy, cautious distance away. The attacker seemed human at first,  
but as she unthinkingly drew nearer, she could see that it was hardly  
human, more like how someone working from a poor description might  
imagine a human looked. It was misshapen, with mismatched limbs and  
claw-like hands. Its face was twisted and asymmetrical, with silver  
tufts of hair protruding from its bumpy skull. It stumbled forward, its  
shorter leg dragging behind the longer, and for a moment its mouth gaped  
open, and Rei could see it had neither teeth nor tongue.  
  
A gun fired; she could not see from who. The monster reared  
back, and Rei thought she saw a flicker of orange light in the air  
before it began to race forward with impossible speed, scooping up one  
of the defenders with a sweep of its unnaturally long arm, which seemed  
almost twice as long as the other. The man twisted in its grip, trying  
to stab his crude sword at the monster's stomach, and this time Rei was  
certain that she saw a flash of light as the blade was somehow turned  
away before it could puncture the leathery hide.  
  
A couple of fighters - Rei thought one of them might be Touji -  
circled around the monster, attacking its seemingly unprotected rear. A  
casual backhand sent one flying away, as the monster's other arm hurled  
the captive man away. It was only when the man landed at her feet that  
Rei realized how close to the battle she had gotten as she had watched  
the fight. Touji blocked another swipe of the monster's shorter arm  
with his massive broadsword before slowly backing away as someone fired  
another ineffectual gunshot.  
  
Rei knelt, checking the unconscious man's pulse, and found that  
he was alive - for the moment. She heard surprised murmurings, and  
concluded that the others must have finally noticed her presence. She  
rose, and for an instant her eyes met the monster's. The monster's eyes  
were red, she noted as it opened its empty mouth in a silent,  
challenging roar. Unthinkingly, she carefully stepped over the fallen  
fighter and began to advance on the monster.  
  
"Rei! Get back!" She couldn't bring herself to respond to  
Shinji's cry, which was followed by several gunshots. She took another  
step forward, and the monster struck. Its short arm raised, and a lance  
of brilliant, purplish light speared out of the clawed hand. Time  
seemed to slow as the beam raced towards her. She took a step forward  
as the beam reached her. Reached her, and vanished. There was silence,  
save for the crackling of the fires behind her, and Rei took another  
step.  
  
Her bare foot touched the cool hilt of a dagger, and she found  
herself stooping down to grasp it. She could tell it was well-balanced  
for throwing and idly wondered whether it might belong to Himiko, from  
Touji's squad. She pushed the thought aside and rose into a fighting  
crouch, slowly circling the monster. Rei realized that she was  
surprisingly calm, her heart beating at a rapid but steady pace, her  
breaths slow and deep. She could hear sounds behind her, but she had no  
concentration for anything save her enemy.  
  
Rei shifted her grip on the dagger, and charged. For an instant  
something seemed to resist her as she drew near, but she pushed through.  
The monster's long arm whipped around in a rapid, high sweep, but she  
effortlessly slipped under and past the blow. Before the enemy could  
react, she struck, plunging her dagger into its thigh. She ignored the  
monster's hiss of pain, pulling the dagger down and out, ripping a long  
gash in the monster's flesh.  
  
She had just enough time to realize that the wound was not  
bleeding before the monster counterattacked, short arm delivering a  
powerful strike to her stomach. There was a flash of light, and though  
she was forced back Rei never felt the blow land. She tried to regain  
the offensive, but found herself unable to advance on the monster, which  
tried to push its own attack, only to be stopped as well. Flickering  
patterns of light warred in the air between the two, and Rei realized  
that she could feel the two... walls struggling against each other, each  
somehow at the same time both irresistable force and immovable object.  
  
Her eyes met her opponent's again, and she noticed that the  
crimson eyes, the same shade as her own, lacked pupils. For a moment,  
she thought she saw something unnamable in those eyes; then the monster  
pushed forward in a shower of light. Rei screamed as she felt it force  
its way through the barrier, easily grabbing her neck with its long arm.  
The dagger dropped from her hands as the reached up to grasp at the  
monster's wrist, but her struggles to free herself proved fruitless.  
  
The monster's grip tightened, and Rei had to struggle to  
breathe. She beat wildly at the monster, to no effect. Her vision began  
to blur, and she realized that she was about to die. Unstoppable fear  
boiled up within her, rendering her unable to think. She imagined she  
could feel the monster's presence, and it was unbearably wrong. Its  
mind seemed to press at hers, and then -  
  
Nothing. Her mind blank, fear and panic vanished, she  
unthinkingly pulled the monster's fingers away from her throat, not even  
able to wonder at the ease with which she did so. Time slowed as she  
dropped, landing gracefully. She half-spun, foot darting out in a  
lightning-fast kick that connected with the monster's jaw, and she felt  
something cracking under the force. The monster stumbled back, and  
without looking she reached down, her fallen dagger almost seeming to  
leap to her hand.  
  
The monster regained its footing, clawed hand reaching out at  
her again. The attack seemed to come at her in slow motion, and Rei  
somehow forced the strike aside with her free hand and counterattacked.  
The dagger flew from her hand, plunging into one of her foe's strange  
eyes, and the monster reared back, clawing hopelessly for the hilt  
protruding from its face. Rei formed her right hand into a claw of her  
own and struck at the monster's chest. The flesh seemed to part before  
her hand reached it, and she plunged her arm into the monster. Her hand  
grasped at something hard, roughly where the heart should have been, but  
even as she reached to crush it, the monster seemed to shrink in upon  
itself. It began to melt, collapsing into what she somehow knew without  
looking was a puddle of LCL.  
  
The dagger slowly fell end over end, until it plunged blade  
first into the now wet dirt. Time sped up again, and Rei realized that  
she was kneeling before what was left of the monster, shaking with  
leftover adrenaline. The distant alarm bells seemed unnaturally loud in  
her ears, rivaling the pounding of her heart. She felt hot, far warmer  
than the fires behind her could account for. She reached out, pulling  
the dagger from the dirt, and LCL slowly oozed down the blade like  
blood.  
  
There would be more, she knew. She was not sure how she knew,  
but she was certain. This would not be an isolated incident. This was  
a probing attack, the first strike in a war. Or maybe the resumption of  
an old war. For, just as surely as she knew that this was the beginning  
and not the end, she knew what the monster had been. An Angel. A name  
quivered on her tongue, but even as she strove to voice it, the strange,  
certain knowledge faded as quickly as it had come.  
  
"Rei!" She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she knew it was  
Shinji's. She could hear Asuka barking orders in the background,  
detailing people to carry the dead and wounded off, others to wake Maya  
and get the infirmary ready. "Are you all right?" Shinji asked after a  
moment, countless other unasked questions plain in his voice.  
  
Rei nodded. "I am unhurt," she whispered.  
  
More than that, she had a purpose. For if the Angels were  
returning, they would be a need to fight them. And she was made for  
fighting Angels.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Author's Random Ramblings  
  
1) And that's a wrap. As always, this chapter took me far too long to  
write. At least this time I kind of have an excuse, given the start of  
the school year and other diverse distractions.  
  
2) As is ever the case, my thanks go to Angus MacSpon for prereading  
this chapter.  
  
3) As is also ever the case, any and all C&C is appreciated.  
  
4) The previous chapters of this story are available at  
http://www.fanfiction.net/~aaronnowack  
  
Started: September 08, 2003  
Draft Completed: October 02, 2003  
Draft Released: October 12, 2003  
Final: October 21, 2003 


	6. Chapter 5: Quake

Fallen  
A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic  
By: Aaron Nowack  
  
Chapter 5: Quake  
  
***********************************************************************  
Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is not mine, but instead belongs to   
Gainax and Hideako Anno. The text of this fanfic is mine, however, and  
may not be used without permission. In the grim darkness of the far  
future, there is only Gendo/Shinji slashfic.  
***********************************************************************  
  
"Are you all right?" It was the first question that came to  
Ikari Shinji's mind, but far from the last. His hand tightened around  
Rei's shoulder, but he slowly relaxed it as the young girl nodded.  
  
"I am unhurt."  
  
Shinji breathed a sigh of relief, for the moment ignoring the  
confusion that surrounded the two, trusting Asuka to deal with it. By  
the sound of the orders she was barking, that trust was more than well  
founded. Shinji released Rei, allowing her to stand.  
  
She did so, and turned to face Shinji. He took a step back at  
the sight. Even setting aside the oddness of seeing Rei holding a  
bloody dagger - no, it was LCL, wasn't it? - there was something  
unsettling about her. A strange light in her eyes, a feeling that...  
something had changed inside of her. For just a moment, Shinji could  
understand why Asuka was so unsettled by Rei.  
  
"Don't just stand there gaping at Wondergirl, idiot!"  
  
Shinji started at the sound of Asuka's voice, but after a moment  
he nodded. He glanced down at Rei - it seemed unnatural to have to look  
so far down to meet her eyes. "Rei, go over and wait by that  
watchtower," he said, gesturing in the direction of one that was still  
intact. "We need to talk."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Even her quiet response somehow sent shivers down Shinji's  
spine, and he gestured her away. She walked off, and Shinji soon found  
himself with little time to consider her. One of the watchtowers was  
still ablaze, and the effort to halt the fire needed to be organized.  
Shinji could hear Tokyo-4 awakening, and runners needed to be sent to  
inform people that the danger was passed and all would be explained in  
the morning - at least if an explanation could be found. Worst of all,  
there were wounded - and maybe dead - to deal with.  
  
"Are there any runners left?" Shinji asked Touji - who had  
easily settled into a role assisting him.  
  
Touji shook his head. "I think everyone who's left is helping  
with the fires."  
  
"All right," Shinji said. "You, then. Go wake up Ibuki-san,  
and get her down here. And have someone - no, I'll go make sure no  
one's dead and find the most seriously hurt."  
  
"Right," Touji said before racing off into the night.  
  
Shinji busied himself counting casualties, which he was glad to  
find were nowhere near as bad as they could have been. Just about all  
the fighters had suffered a few scratches and minor wounds, but he could  
only find six who were too hurt to move. One of those he thought he  
recognized from Touji's squad, but he couldn't recall the name.  
  
Unfortunately, those were not the worst. Two people were dead -  
a guardswoman who had burned to death in one of the watchtowers, and one  
man who seemed to have died of a broken spine. It was true that it  
could have been far worse; indeed, had an Angel attack on Tokyo-3 killed  
so few, he now knew it would have been a cause for celebration among the  
Nerv staff. Still... two deaths was already far too many, and there was  
no guarantee all the wounded would live.  
  
The fires were soon under control, and well on their way to  
being completely extinguished. Shinji and Asuka managed to steal away  
for a moment to talk. "Not exactly the homecoming night I was hoping  
for," Asuka commented, taking a long drink from a water bottle.  
  
Shinji smiled weakly. "I don't think anyone was hoping for  
something like this. We can't say there was no warning, though."  
  
Asuka took another drink. "The dreams."  
  
"And the Eva." Shinji barely repressed a shudder.  
  
"That... thing had an AT Field." Asuka's eyes were hard.  
"There's no other explanation."  
  
"Do you think -"  
  
"It's an Angel," Asuka stated flatly. "It has to be. What are  
we going to do about it?" Shinji muttered a curse, and Asuka let out a  
bark of forced laughter before continuing. "We need a plan."  
  
"You think I don't know that?" Shinji asked. "I don't know what  
to do. I wish I could say I thought this was going to be the only one,  
but -"  
  
"I know," Asuka said. She paused, seeming to think of something  
new. "Where's Wondergirl?"  
  
"Over there." Shinji gestured vaguely in the direction he'd sent  
her. "Why?"  
  
"If that thing had an AT Field, how the hell did Wondergirl get  
through it? The only thing that can penetrate an AT Field is -"  
  
"Another AT Field," Shinji finished.  
  
"So where did she get one? Not even Wondergirl can carry an Eva  
in her pocket."  
  
Shinji glanced away from Asuka. "Everybody has an AT Field," he  
whispered, half to himself.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Asuka asked.  
  
"A... friend told me that, before the Impact."  
  
Asuka blinked. "Who?"  
  
"Nobody you would know." Shinji made his voice flat enough to  
indicate that he had no desire to continue that particular conversation.  
  
After a moment, Asuka nodded, but it was obvious that she  
intended to raise the matter again later. Before she could speak, Touji  
had arrived with Maya in tow, and soon the two were helping her see to  
the seriously wounded. Of those six, half Maya determined were simply  
unconscious, with no damage worse then a broken bone or two. The other  
three's conditions, however, were more serious, and soon improvised  
stretchers had been made to transport them to the infirmary.  
  
The rest of the night passed in a confused blur, and the next  
time Shinji had a moment to think, Asuka and he were standing near the  
town hall, watching the rising sun. Rei had long ago been sent back to  
Maya's house, told to get what rest she could and return to the town  
hall in the morning. The buzz of hundreds of muted, fearful  
conversations filled the air, and some small part of Shinji's mind was  
busy pondering ways to control and calm the situation.  
  
For now, though, he was content to just stand here with Asuka.  
For the moment, he could ignore everything else, pretend there was  
nothing more in the world than the two of them. His arm snaked around  
her waist, drawing her closer. Their eyes met briefly, and Shinji saw  
his own weariness reflected in hers.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt, but you two look like you need this."  
  
Shinji almost started as he turned to look at Touji, who simply  
handed him a steaming mug of tea. Shinji disengaged himself from Asuka,  
muttering a quick thanks. Asuka took the other mug from Touji and took  
a quick sip. Her face twisted into a grimace. "Exactly how much sugar  
did you put in this?" Shinji risked a sip of his own, and nearly gagged  
at the almost syrupy sweetness.  
  
Touji scratched the back of his head. "Actually, Katsuragi-san  
made it," he said. "Is it really that sweet?"  
  
"Of course it is!" All three looked up at the sound of Misato's  
voice. She walked over, carrying another two mugs. She offered one to  
Touji, who after a moment nervously accepted it. Misato took a big gulp  
from her mug before continuing. "After a night like last night, what  
you need is some of my patent-pending hyper-sweet tea! Or a beer.  
Beer's good for anything, but I couldn't find any." She paused, gazing  
thoughtfully into space. "I need to try mixing my sweet tea and beer."  
  
Asuka glanced at Shinji. "Now I remember why you never let her  
cook," she said dryly.  
  
Shinji took another sip of his drink, and discovered that, now  
that he was expecting it, the sweetness wasn't quite as overwhelming.  
And he had to admit he probably could use the sugar rush he was already  
feeling. He took another, longer sip, and decided that he could also  
feel his teeth decaying.  
  
"That thing last night," Misato said after a moment. "I didn't  
see it, but I talked to some of the scouts who fought it. It sounded  
like it had -"  
  
"An AT Field," Shinji finished for her, and she nodded curtly.  
  
"Was it what I think it was?" Misato asked, her face hard.  
  
"Yes," Asuka answered flatly. "I don't see any other  
possibility."  
  
Misato glanced at Touji. "Suzuhara, yesterday you offered me a  
place in the scouts. If you still want me, I'm there."  
  
After a moment, Touji nodded. "All right. I could use ya in my  
squad, at least until Nakamura gets out of the infirmary." His eyes  
turned to Shinji. "That okay with you, Ikari?"  
  
Shinji nodded. "That's fine. So one of the wounded was from  
your squad? I thought I recognized one of them. Will he be all right?"  
  
"Ibuki-san said he just had a concussion and some broken bones,  
so he should be fine." Touji sighed after a moment. "This just isn't  
fair, is it?"  
  
"Life isn't fair, stooge," Asuka said dryly. "You should know  
that by now."  
  
"I know." Touji finished the rest of his drink in one gulp.  
"What now?"  
  
"I need to talk to Ayanami," Shinji said. "If anyone can tell  
us anything about this, it will be her."  
  
"There's lots of other people we need to talk to," Asuka said.  
"Everyone has questions, and they're going to come to us for answers."  
  
"We don't exactly have anything to tell them, do we?" Shinji  
replied, and after a moment Asuka nodded in agreement. He continued,  
"Maybe Ayanami will be able to give us something to work with."  
  
Asuka nodded again. "I'll come with you then."  
  
"All right." Shinji turned to Touji. "Suzuhara, get the scout  
squads together, organize some patrols. Keep things calm; get people  
working. Tell them we'll have a town meeting... at sundown tonight, I  
guess. That sound good, Asuka?"  
  
"If we don't have anything by then, we're not going to get any  
answers at all," Asuka said.  
  
"Right." Shinji glanced towards Misato. "Misato, I need you to  
hold down the fort here. Tell people who ask about the meeting  
tonight... have you met Arakawa-san?"  
  
"Once or twice, I think."  
  
"Good. When he shows up, tell him where we are. He'll probably  
want to talk with us."  
  
Misato nodded. "I'll do that."  
  
"All right, then," Asuka said. "Let's get going."  
  
Shinji nodded, and the two set off at a rapid pace toward the  
infirmary and Maya's house. That pace quickly slowed as they found  
themselves besieged by worried questions and pleas for explanations. It  
took some effort for Shinji to remain calm, to keep his repeated answer  
- that the incident was being investigated and that what was known would  
be revealed at the meeting that evening - polite and smooth. Still, he  
somehow succeeded, and it really didn't take all that long for Asuka and  
him to reach the infirmary.  
  
Maya was sitting in the front room, Shinji glanced around,  
noticing that the perpetually untidy chamber was even worse than usual.  
Countless medical textbooks and journals - all salvaged from the ruins  
of Tokyo-3 - were strewn about, some opened to pages that seemed  
incomprehensible to Shinji's untrained eye. Maya set a book she had  
been studying onto her already crowded desk, exchanged brief greetings  
with her two visitors. Then Shinji asked, "How are they?" There was  
no need to state exactly who he referred to.  
  
A dark silence lingered a few moments before Maya answered.  
"One of them's awake again - just a concussion." She paused, suddenly  
seeming even more weary than ever. "The other two are pretty bad. The  
woman'll live, I think, but I don't know if she'll ever walk again. The  
other man... I'm pretty sure he has some bad internal bleeding. I don't  
know if even a good surgeon could save him now."  
  
Shinji's fists tightened, and he resisted the urge to curse,  
knowing it would do far more harm than good. He felt Asuka grasp one of  
his hands, and after a moment he relaxed slightly.  
  
"Keep us posted," Asuka said. "And let us know if there's  
anything you need."  
  
Maya blinked slowly. "I know what I need, but you can't give it  
to me." She paused for a moment. "I'm not trained for this. I'm not a  
doctor; I'm not even a biologist. Everything I know I picked up from  
working with Ritsuko-sempai."  
  
"We know," Asuka said, not unkindly. "But you're all we've  
got."  
  
"I know," Maya said, forcing herself to her feet. "I should go  
check on them again."  
  
"Is Rei here?" Shinji asked.  
  
Maya shook her head. "She should still be at home with the  
other girls."  
  
"All right." Shinji paused. "Let us know if we can do anything  
to help, okay?"  
  
Maya nodded wearily, then turned away from Shinji and Asuka.  
The two of them left the infirmary, pausing in the doorway. "I really  
wish one of the scout squads would come back with a returned doctor or  
two. For Ibuki-san's sake, as much as ours."  
  
"I know," Shinji answered. "But unless that happens, there's  
not much we can do."  
  
"We should at least move some people with first aid skills from  
the scouts to help her," Asuka said.  
  
"You're right. I should have thought of that sooner so that I  
could have Suzuhara send some down."  
  
"You could run and catch up with him."  
  
Shinji shook his head. "After this. We both need to talk to  
Ayanami."  
  
Asuka nodded. "Right." She glanced down the street, taking in  
the nearest clusters of makeshift homes. "Which one is Ibuki-san's,  
again?"  
  
Shinji had to think a moment before pointing. "There."  
  
The two hurried down to Maya's house and Shinji knocked on the  
door. A few moments later, the door opened, revealing a young girl with  
brown hair. She blinked rapidly. "G-good morning, Ikari-san,  
Soryuu-san. I guess you're here to talk with Ayanami."  
  
"That's right," Shinji said, hesitating a moment as he  
remembered the girl's name, "Erika. Is she in?"  
  
Erika nodded. "She is." She turned back into the small house,  
calling for Ayanami. As she turned her attention back to the two  
visitors, she said, "I don't think you want to talk here, since you  
probably want to be alone."  
  
"That's right," Asuka said.  
  
Moments later, Rei replaced Erika at the door, still clad in the  
now-dirty pale blue pajamas she had fought in the previous night. "I am  
here," she said.  
  
Asuka blinked. "Don't you want to change?"  
  
"No."  
  
Asuka looked like she was about to make some biting comment, but  
Shinji stopped her with a slight, almost imperceptible motion of his  
hand. "We don't have time to argue. Where can we talk and not be  
overheard?"  
  
""The infirmary... no, it's full, isn't it?" Asuka said.  
  
"Unfortunately," Shinji replied. "I guess there's nothing for  
it but to head back to the town hall and talk there."  
  
"Then let's get moving," Asuka said, and the three set out with  
no further delay.  
  
They made much faster progress than they had on the way to meet  
Rei, and it took Shinji several minutes to realize why. The same  
throngs of people who had pressed him and Asuka for answers not so long  
ago now gave them a wide berth, only glancing at them through the  
corners of their eyes and muttering fearful comments under their breath.  
Shinji half-glanced back at Rei, who seem unconcerned. After a moment,  
he turned away again, repressing a slight shudder.  
  
There was... something about Rei. There had always been  
something about Rei, actually, but it seemed to be affecting him rather  
more than it once had. Was it simply that he was no longer used to her?  
Or had something changed in him... or in her? He risked another glance  
back at her, who once again seemed not to notice his observation, though  
he was certain she did. She just wasn't the type to care enough about  
that sort of thing to show any recognition of it.  
  
Asuka, on the other hand, certainly was that type. "What's  
wrong?" she asked in a hissed undertone, perhaps low enough for Rei to  
not be able to make out the words, if not fail to hear it.  
  
Shinji shook his head. "Nothing." After a second, he continued  
in a much quieter voice. "I think."  
  
Now it was Asuka who glanced backwards. "Right," was all she  
said, though.  
  
Even though the people of Tokyo-4 still gave the trio a wide  
berth, their progress slowed as they neared the town hall. An unusual  
number of people crowded the area around the converted ruined parking  
garage and the rough streets near it. Shinji wished that there was some  
way to get them to go about their normal business, but he knew that  
there was very little he could do to accomplish that. They were  
worried, and they had every right to be.  
  
Finally, they reached the town hall. As always, it took several  
moments for Shinji's eyes to adjust to the sudden shift from bright  
sunlight to half-lit gloom. As his eyes cleared, Shinji lead the trio  
through the tangled maze of makeshift rooms and hallways towards the  
back, where his office lay. They were a bit more than half-way there  
when Shinji heard Misato's voice form over his shoulder.  
  
"Shinji!" The three turned to the voice, and Shinji and Asuka  
muttered greetings as Misato continued. "Did you already speak to  
Arakawa-san, then? He left to meet up with you two a couple minutes  
ago?"  
  
Shinji shook his head. "I didn't see him." He glanced at  
Asuka, who also gave a slight shake of her head.  
  
"I believe I saw him." The other three people started at Rei's  
unexpected interjection.  
  
Shinji blinked. "I wonder why he didn't call to us."  
  
"He was facing the other way," Rei replied, then paused a  
moment. "I do not believe he was heading to the infirmary."  
  
"Strange," Misato said. "I told him that you were going to pick  
up Rei there."  
  
"Arakawa's always strange," Asuka said irritably. "He'll show  
up eventually. He always does."  
  
Shinji nodded. "Has anything happened while we were out,  
Misato?" he asked.  
  
"Not really," Misato said. "You weren't gone that long."  
  
"All right," Asuka said. "Tell Arakawa we'll be in Shinji's  
office if he shows up."  
  
"Right," Misato replied, and Asuka strode off in that direction,  
Shinji and Rei following close behind her. When they arrived, Asuka  
roughly pulled the tarp over the entrance and turned to Rei. "All  
right, Wondergirl. Talk."  
  
Shinji sighed, rubbing his eyes. "You could be a little more  
diplomatic, Asuka."  
  
"What?" Asuka asked. "She knows what we want to know." She  
smirked slightly. "If it makes you feel better, you can play good cop  
to my bad cop."  
  
"There is no need." Both turned at Rei's quiet statement.  
"That technique is for use on a hostile subject." She paused. "I will  
tell you what I can."  
  
Asuka smirked, before seating herself on top of Shinji's desk.  
After a moment, she gestured to Shinji to ask the first question.  
  
He sighed, then said, "I assume you've guessed what that thing  
was."  
  
"No," Rei said. "Not guessed. I... know. It was an Angel."  
  
Asuka raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"  
  
"I... can not say."  
  
"Can't or won't?" Asuka asked, a tiny bit of snarl in her  
voice.  
  
"Asuka!" Shinji protested, but Rei answered anyway.  
  
"I can not," she said quietly, and Asuka sighed.  
  
"Of course not," Asuka said. "It would be too convenient if  
someone was able to tell us something useful!"  
  
"Asuka!" Shinji said again, and the time she quieted. Shinji  
turned back to Rei. "Do you know why it was here, where it came from?"  
  
Rei shook her head. "No."  
  
"Will there be more?" Shinji pressed.  
  
The time Rei nodded. "Yes."  
  
"How do you know that?" Asuka asked.  
  
"I cannot say."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because I do not know!" Shinji blinked at the frustration  
evident in Rei's voice, and noticed that her hands were clenched into  
fists. He glanced back at Asuka, a silent signal for her to back off,  
and she complied. He turned back to Rei. "How did you know to come to  
the fight? You had to have left before it began to get there that  
quickly."  
  
Rei glanced down, clearly considering her answer. "It... it  
was... right."  
  
Shinji sighed at that, resisting the urge to start pacing. He  
glanced back at Asuka.  
  
"How did you kill it?" Asuka said. "Nobody else was able to get  
anything through its AT Field."  
  
It took Rei a moment to answer. "I," she began, only to halt.  
Shinji looked questioningly at her, but before he could say anything she  
continued. "It was instinct."  
  
"Instinct?" Asuka asked, but there was no rancor in her voice  
this time. After a moment, she sighed. "I know you're trying to help,  
Ayanami, but these aren't very useful answers."  
  
Rei glanced downward.  
  
"Is there anything else you can tell us that might be helpful?"  
Shinji asked.  
  
After a moment, Rei shook her head, not looking up as she did  
so. Shinji sighed. "All right. What are the things we don't know?"  
  
Asuka began to count them off on her fingers. "How we can kill  
the next Angels. How many there are. When and if they will come. What  
they're after. How we can stop them from coming again."  
  
"Those are some interesting questions, indeed."  
  
Shinji started at the new voice, spinning around to face the  
doorway. "Arakawa-san," he stated. "I'm sorry we missed you."  
  
His assistant nodded and stepped into the room, letting the tarp  
fall back into place behind him. "Ikari-san, Soryuu-san." He glanced  
toward Rei. "Ayanami-san." His eyes came back to Tokyo-4's two  
leaders. "I apologize. I was briefly... sidetracked."  
  
Shinji almost started at that. It was rather unusual of the man  
to let himself be distracted. Though it had been a most unusual day.  
"It's not a problem," he said.  
  
"Thank you," was Arakawa's reply. "We must talk."  
  
"Of course," Asuka said. She was not quite able to hide the  
distaste in her voice from Shinji, and he was fairly sure from Arakawa  
as well. Shinji simply nodded for the man to speak.  
  
"I am sure you reached the same conclusions as to the identity  
of the attacker as myself," Arakawa began, and Shinji nodded a second  
time. "The Angels are back, and we must make plans to handle their  
return."  
  
Asuka rolled her eyes. "No, really. That must have taken a lot  
of effort to figure out."  
  
"Asuka," Shinji said quietly. He turned his attention back to  
Arakawa. "That is what we are trying to do, Arakawa-san."  
  
The man sighed. "Of course." He paused. "Have you decided  
what you are to say at your speech tonight?"  
  
Shinji shook his head. "Except to repeat the little we know,  
no."  
  
Arakawa nodded. "I suppose you cannot do more."  
  
"Do you have any actual suggestions?" Asuka asked.  
  
The man paused, obviously hesitating. After a moment, he said,  
"Yes."  
  
"What?" Asuka pressed.  
  
"I am not sure, but I believe I know what the Angels are after,"  
Arakawa replied after a moment.  
  
It was Asuka who asked the obvious question first. "And what do  
you think that is?"  
  
The man turned toward Rei, who merely stared back at him.  
  
"Wondergirl?" Asuka asked, disbelieving.  
  
"You can't be serious," Shinji said. "Why?"  
  
"It seems the only possible trigger," Arakawa said.  
  
Shinji let out a rather obscene German curse he'd learned from  
Asuka. "I know you better then that, Arakawa Okura. You're not the  
type to jump to a conclusion on that type of shoddy thinking."  
  
Arakawa hesitated, obviously weighing options in his mind. "You  
are right," he finally said.  
  
"Then why?"  
  
Again, Arakawa paused before speaking. "There were many  
organizations interested in Nerv. I had some contact with one, one that  
provided much of your father's suppor -"  
  
"Seele!" The quiet word was filled with hatred, uttered in a  
low, almost inhuman growl. Shinji, shocked at the sudden outburst,  
turned to Rei, and he was certain that the other two people in the room  
did as well.  
  
"I... I am surprised that you know that name," Arakawa said, a  
little shakily.  
  
Rei made no verbal reply, but her lips curled up into something  
that was almost a snarl.  
  
Shinji turned back to Arakawa. "I do not know the word, but I  
suspect I know of the group. What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"In my... contacts with them, I learned some things about what  
was going on. Since then, I have tried to learn more."  
  
"And?" Shinji asked, beating Asuka to the question.  
  
"And if half the things I've guessed about the abomination your  
father made of Third Impact are correct, then she should not be here!"  
Arakawa paused, gaining control of himself. "It should not be  
possible."  
  
"Enough," Shinji said. "I will take your opinion into  
consideration, but that's not enough. Even if the Angels were somehow  
after Ayanami, I wouldn't turn her over to them if they asked."  
  
Arakawa lowered his head. "Very well." He paused. "I will  
begin preparations for the meeting tonight. I assume that you will need  
speakers set up, if you intend to address the whole city."  
  
"Yes, of course," Shinji said.  
  
Arakawa bowed slightly and turned toward the door.  
  
"Wait just a minute," Asuka said. The man paused, and she  
continued. "I have a feeling that we need to have a very long  
conversation. I think there are many interesting things you could tell  
us."  
  
Arakawa did not turn around, but after a moment he answered.  
"Not as much as you would expect, I think."  
  
"But can you tell us what my father was planning?" Shinji asked,  
a dangerous current in his voice.  
  
"I was not exactly his confidant," Arakawa said. "Nor was I a  
spy, to ferret out his doings. I suspect you may know more of him than  
me."  
  
"Somehow I doubt that," Asuka said dryly.  
  
"I am sure that at some point we will have that long  
conversation, and find out who is correct."  
  
"Well," she said, "why not now?"  
  
Before anyone could answer her, it happened. To Shinji, the  
world seemed to... flex strangely. A titanic roar sounded in his ears,  
a sound so overpowering he could not even hear it. Incomprehensible  
colors flashed before his eyes. He felt dizzy, like he was quickly spun  
around by some invisible hand. An undefinable force pushed at his mind,  
an overwhelming force not even aware of his existence.  
  
It was... indescribable. An incomprehensible, utterly alien  
sensation filled his mind. Wrong was the only word that could describe  
it. There was something in it, something that could almost be called  
hatred. Almost, because to call it hatred would be to imply that there  
was something human about the feeling, something that could be grasped  
and understood. No such handhold existed, so the word hatred was  
insufficient... but perhaps as close as could be reached.  
  
As though Shinji's scattered thoughts had drawn it to him, the  
pressure increased, the terrible presence no longer unaware. The thing  
that was almost hatred redoubled, and Shinji could barely think under  
the onslaught. He could feel himself falling to his knees, sense his  
vision blurring and fading. He tried to open his mouth, but he found  
that he could not move in the slightest. Time seemed to stretch and  
twist, and he could not say how quickly it was passing.  
  
"Shinji!"  
  
The call cleared his head for a moment, but still could not  
respond. The strange feeling... the attack was lesser now, a dull,  
muted sensation. For a moment, he thought he had made his hand twitch,  
but whatever control he had gained quickly faded away. A moment later,  
he managed to force his eyes open for a second, and saw Asuka standing  
over him.  
  
The next he knew he was in a bed. His head was painfully  
clear, the absence of confusion and turmoil somehow more disconcerting  
than their presence would have been. He tried to sit up, but managed  
only to weakly raise his arm, slightly disturbing the bedsheets. He  
concentrated, and managed to push the sheets aside.  
  
He heard the distinctive sound of a book closing, then of  
someone rising and walking over to the bed. He managed to turn his head  
in the appropriate direction and saw Touji half leaning over him. "Ya  
awake?" the other man asked.  
  
Shinji's throat was dry, and he had to swallow several times  
before he could reply. "Yes," he said, and was surprised at how strong  
his voice sounded. He raised his hand again, finding it much easier  
this time, and offered it to Touji. "Help me up."  
  
"You sure about that, Ikari?" Touji replied. "Shouldn't ya rest  
some or something?"  
  
"I'm sure," Shinji said.  
  
"All right, but I want you taking the blame if Soryuu or  
Ibuki-san go ballistic."  
  
Shinji forced a weak smile, and after a few moments he managed  
to get himself, with Touji's help, into a sitting position. He shook  
his head slowly. "What happened?"  
  
"I dunno," Touji said. "I had another one of those vision  
things, so I raced back here to see what was up, and found you passed  
out, and Soryuu not much better."  
  
"Ayanami?" Shinji asked.  
  
"Ayanami was... Ayanami."  
  
A weak chuckle escaped Shinji throat, quickly turning into a  
cough.  
  
"Ya okay?"  
  
Shinji nodded after a moment. "I'm fine. How long was I out?"  
  
"It's about dinnertime."  
  
Shinji let out a curse. "That long? It must be time for the  
speech -"  
  
"Don't worry, Soryuu's taking care of it. If you'll just stay  
here, I'll go get ya some soup or something."  
  
Shinji nodded, then let himself lie back down as Touji left.  
For a long moment, he simply lay there, mind blank. He could not do  
that for long, however; his thoughts quickly turned troublesome, no  
matter how hard he tried to keep them calm. He took a long, deep breath  
and forced himself to clear his head once again. If he could not think  
over matters calmly, it would be far better to not think on them at all.  
  
After a moment, he began to consider what had just happened to  
him as unemotionally as he could. It seemed logical to connect the  
series of strange... visions was what Touji had called them, though  
Shinji was not sure that word quite fit, with the appearance of the  
Angel the previous night. It also seemed reasonable that, despite its  
far greater impact, the most recent occurrence was caused by much the  
same thing.  
  
There were therefore two possible conclusion Shinji thought  
could be true. First, that the Angel of the previous night was dead.  
Second, that, as they had feared, there not only were more Angels, and  
that they were preparing their own attacks. There was very little  
Shinji could do to determine which of these conclusions was the truth,  
if not both, but he felt that in all honesty it would make little  
difference. So far as they were concerned, there was probably little  
difference between this being the previous Angel or another.  
  
Still, he thought the second seemed somewhat more likely. It  
was hard to compare one indescribable feeling with another, but even  
setting aside his adverse reaction, he felt the most recent vision had  
been somehow different. The strength of it was also of a totally  
different magnitude, at least to him. He had to wonder whether the  
others had felt it any stronger, or whether it had been just him. From  
Touji's words, it seemed that he at least had felt little difference.  
  
A loud yawn escaped Shinji's lips, and he realized that he was  
suddenly far more tired than he had been a moment ago. Even as he  
considered this, he yawned again. After a moment, he gave up the  
struggle. He rolled over on his side, and his eyes closed almost of  
their own volition.  
  
And he dreamed. It was a dream of fragments, of visible sound  
and audible color, of tangible smell and aromatic tastes. He was  
somehow outside himself, seeing himself as others saw him. It was a  
strange detachment, an inability to muster even the slightest emotion.  
He was not alone; innumerable others swarmed about him, taking no notice  
of him and attracting no notice from him. These were somehow...  
indistinct, merging and separating faster than he could follow, had he  
cared to attempt to. Still, there were some others like him, who,  
though not apart from the swarm, were not fully one with it either.  
  
There was a bundle of emotion and feeling that somehow meant  
Mother. Even as he unthinkingly reached towards it, it vanished,  
becoming just another one of the teeming swarm. Another presence  
hovered on the horizons of his thoughts, this one even more distinct.  
Some part of it seemed familiar, and Shinji reached toward it, seeking  
something he could not name. Yet, as he drew near, he could feel an  
alien wrongness at its heart. Rage and betrayal filled Shinji's mind.  
He struck out, driving it away.  
  
A third presence. He somehow knew it intimately, its every  
nuance known and beloved. A name he could not voice in his non-existent  
throat trembled inside him and he raced toward her. He ached to join  
her, but still hesitated as he approached. She bridged the gap, and  
somehow spoke.  
  
"Do you want to become one with me, in body and soul?"  
  
Shinji traced the familiar outline of her, then recoiled.  
Threaded through her was a taint, an alien presence that could only be  
called wrong. To join with this was abomination, a primal taboo he  
could not break. He recoiled, a silent scream echoing in his mind. He  
wrenched himself away, away from her, away from the swarm...  
  
And woke.  
  
For a moment he lay still, feeling at the same time burning and  
frozen. He pushed the sweat-drenched sheets aside, sitting up. He saw  
a small bowl of broth sitting on a table by the bedside, and he reached  
for the spoon. He took a quick taste, but it was quite cold.  
  
Shinji rose, and for the first time noticed that he had been  
stripped to his underwear. He cast about and located his clothing  
sitting neatly folded on top of a nearby chair. In a matter of moments,  
he had dressed himself. He was ravenous, and quickly ate almost all of  
the soup, cold though it was.  
  
His body felt far stronger now, though his mind seemed strangely  
feverish. He could not concentrate for long on any one thing, his  
unruly thoughts scattering as he attempted to herd them. With a shake  
of his head, he left the small room, and began to thread his way through  
the empty, dark hallways of the town hall.  
  
He had to guess that Asuka was giving her speech - in fact, now  
that he thought of it he was fairly sure that he could hear the sound of  
the crowd gathered in the square outside. He wondered briefly what  
exactly she was telling them, but he was fairly sure he knew the gist of  
it. That last night, an Angel had attacked, and that was really all  
that was known. He couldn't imagine that it was going over very well.  
  
He paused as he neared the town hall's kitchen. After a  
moment's thought, he entered it and quickly cut himself a couple of  
pieces of bread. He wolfed them down, and his hunger somewhat abated.  
He was considering making a sandwich of some sort when the tone of the  
noise from outside changed.  
  
Before it had simply been the quiet noise of any large  
gathering, but no3w it was far louder. He wads certain that he heard  
screams, of both anger and terror. More distracting than that, though,  
was the prickling sensation in the back of his head. It was...  
familiar.  
  
He raced to the town hall's entrance, and had to blink several  
times as his eyes adjusted to the light of the great bonfires that lit  
the square. Then his breath left him, and his eyes darted up... far up,  
to gaze on the colossal form that towered over Tokyo-4 like a vengeful  
god. There was no doubt as to its identity. An Angel - not some  
strange, twisted imitation of human like the night before, but a  
gargantuan form that, though it had four limbs arranged somewhat like  
arms and legs, could never be mistaken for human. And it was not an  
unfamiliar form, either, but one that had him thinking back to long ago,  
not long after Asuka had arrived in Tokyo-3.  
  
At its hands, the two of them had suffered a humiliating defeat,  
one that had made even him desire vengeance. It had taken a week of  
even more humiliating training for the two of them to be able to gain  
that vengeance, but in the end they had succeeded, and, they had  
thought, it had been vanquished.  
  
The Seventh Angel.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Author's Random Ramblings  
  
1) Nobody who follows my work should be surprised when I say this took  
far too long to write.  
  
2) Nor should they be surprised when I thank Angus MacSpon and Ryan Hupp  
for prereading this chapter.  
  
3) Any and all comments are, as always, welcome.  
  
Started: December 25, 2003  
Draft Completed: February 12, 2004  
Draft Released: February 24, 2004  
Final: February 27, 2004 


End file.
